J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings was known for its sprawling character list, so it may be logical that Peter Jackson didn’t adapt them all into his movies, but some he included were barely recognizable. With their roles significantly reduced from their book storylines, some of the characters of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy appeared as mere avatars of their original selves. Meanwhile, some characters were amped up to suit the narrative of a modern action adventure, contrasting those who didn’t fit the bill and got streamlined parts.

Lord of the Rings’ Tom Bombadil is one of the most famous of Tolkien’s characters, but got axed completely from the movies. This controversial decision probably made sense, considering the apt pacing of the movies and how this would have been disrupted by an extra arc. Other Third Age characters were also axed, along with First Age and Second Age characters from the appendices that were discussed more in The Silmarillion than Lord of the Rings. Amazon’s Rings of Power adapted some of these, but the movies excelled at fitting in the novel’s key roles, even if in a minor fashion.

10

Farmer Maggot

The Lord Of The Rings’ Angry Farmer

In The Lord of the Rings novel, released in three parts between 1954 and 1955, Farmer Maggot was the same cross presence that featured in the movies. Although, he didn’t get as many lines in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie. The Hobbits were terrified of Maggot in the movies, all fleeing his presence with a few foraged goods – with foraged being a loose term.

Maggot was actually pretty essential in helping the Hobbits on their way, in the end.

Nothing has changed since the ’50s, when it comes to Farmer Maggot. Anyone familiar with country life will recognize Tolkien’s eerily realistic and joyous descriptions of Frodo’s run-ins with Maggot, who defended his produce like his life depended on it – which it did. This came through nicely in the movies. But what the movies didn’t show was the perfectly personable chat the Hobbits all had with the farmer. Maggot was actually pretty essential in helping the Hobbits on their way, in the end.

9

Fatty Bolger

Hobbit Conspirator In Lord Of The Rings’ Shire Cover-Up

Fatty Bolger consтιтuted one of the key changes that Fellowship of the Ring made to the book. This Hobbit character fell into the black hole that was where Frodo’s 17 years in the Shire used to be – Peter Jackson’s sneaky time skip neither portrayed this period nor eliminated the possibility of its existence. Nonetheless, Fredegar “Fatty” Bolger did make it into the extended edition of the movie.

This character was oddly important to the Hobbits, playing a significant part in helping Frodo Baggins become Mr. Underhill. Frodo’s exit from the Shire actually consтιтuted a lot of organization, necessitating him to essentially fake a move to another house. Bolger not only facilitated the move, but escaped Ringwraiths when they came knocking, and raised the alarm, later defending the Shire during its Scouring.

8

Barliman ʙuттerbur

Fellowship Ally At The Prancing Pony

Barliman ʙuттerbur was awarded a role in The Fellowship of the Ring but was scarcely used as a character. This key ally to the Fellowship put up the Hobbits in Bree in the legendary Prancing Pony inn. ʙuттerbur was glimpsed in the movie, acting as innkeeper, but his role was actually pivotal to the success of the Fellowship’s mission. Gandalf berated him as forgetful, having neglected to pᴀss on his letter for a while.

David Weatherly played Barliman ʙuттerbur in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

However, in the book, when Barliman finally remembered to pᴀss the letter to Frodo, it enabled him to successfully identify Aragorn as a friend, rather than a foe. It initially seemed like the forgetful ʙuттerbur may have precipitated the War of the Ring itself by delaying Frodo’s journey for so long in holding back Gandalf’s letter. However, ʙuттerbur was the essential bridge between the Hobbits and the world of the big folk.

7

Treebeard

Lord Of The Rings’ Most Celebrated Ent

Treebeard actually had a huge role in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and also The Return of the King, but he was even more important in the novel. Also known as Fangorn, for which his surrounding forest was named, this eldest of the Ents helped Merry and Pippin during their adventure through the dark woods. In The Two Towers, the Hobbits asked Treebeard to travel to their destination via Isengard.

Treebeard, voiced by John Westbrook, can also be seen in Ralph Bakshi’s animated 1978 picture The Lord of the Rings.

This smart move showed Treebeard the extent of the damage Saruman had done to the woods and the trees that were Treebeard’s friends in Isengard. In the movies, the Hobbits essentially tricked Treebeard into leading the Ents into war against Saruman with them. In the books, Treebeard is one of the most powerful characters in The Lord of the Rings, as one of the oldest beings in Middle-earth, and he made the decision to fight Saruman himself.

6

Prince Imrahil

The Prince Of Dol Amroth In Lord Of The Rings

Prince Imrahil only just featured in The Lord of the Rings movies, by the skin of his teeth. This character was a major player in the War of the Ring in Tolkien’s third part to The Lord of the Rings novel, The Return of the King. In keeping with Tolkien’s own experience of war in WWI, military operations on the side of light were complex. Although Tolkien painted a lot of detail into these in the book, it was fair for Jackson to exclude a lot of it.

The Warner Bros. Lord of the Rings movies opted to shift most of the War of the Ring’s heroics onto a few characters in order to maintain audience focus on them. This helped viewers connect, relate to, and glorify figures like Aragorn and Gandalf. Imrahil drew the short straw, not getting any lines in the trilogy, and was not even named in the credits. He was retconned into the cast via The Lord of the Rings official trading card game by Decipher, who labeled him on a card.

5

Glorfindel

The First Age Elf Of Lord Of The Rings Legend

Glorfindel is secretly one of the best characters in The Lord of the Rings, despite a barely-there appearance in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Like Imrahil, Glorfindel was retconned into the trilogy through Decipher’s trading card game. Decipher liaised with Wētā Workshop’s Daniel Falconer to cast and costume characters for the game, including Glorfindel. Since Falconer had a huge input into the movies, the game can definitely be considered an accompaniment to the movies.

Glorfindel featured in the Swedish Sagan om Ringen movie, released in 1971.

Despite his fleeting appearance at Aragorn’s coronation in The Return of the King, Glorfindel actually had Arwen’s role in The Fellowship of the Ring, saving Frodo and fending off the Nazgûl at the Ford of Bruinen. Not just that, but he was one of the only Elves to be reincarnated early, having defended Gondolin during its sacking and died killing a balrog. Rings of Power could fix the Glorfindel mistake made by multiple adaptations in leaving him out of proceedings, with season 2 in a position to adapt his Second Age antics.

4

Celeborn

Galadriel’s Husband And Leader In Lothlórien

Celeborn had a relatively minor role in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, compared to his story in the books. It is true that Galadriel is more powerful than most Elves in LotR, and takes a lot of the limelight from Celeborn in both the books and movies. But in the movies, Celeborn truly did play second fiddle and appeared as little more than Galadriel’s husband. Celeborn had more agency in the book.

With many more lines, and a heavier significance in guiding the Fellowship during their stay in Lothlórien, Celeborn acted and felt like more of a leader in the novel. Tolkien played around with Celeborn’s role in the legendarium, and he was even more of a hero in Unfinished Tales. This posthumous compilation, with some stories more complete than others, revealed Celeborn opposing Sauron in Lord of the Rings’ Second Age.

3

Sauron

The Lord Of The Rings

The eponymous Lord of the Rings was a genuinely petrifying presence in Peter Jackson’s three movies, but he did far more in the book. This is not to say that his part was less important in the movies – Sauron reigned over Middle-earth via a disembodied eye in an oppressive tyranny that almost resembled George Orwell’s Big Brother. But Lord of the Rings’ Sauron change downplayed his role in the story.

In the book, Sauron had a body, and he used it. Sauron seemed ghostly in the movie, reduced to an eye strung between two points like so much filament in a light bulb. This was meant to portray how he was stunted without the ring. Indeed, he was. But he actually had a huge, terrifying form, possibly blackened skin, and nine fingers. He used those fingers to torture Gollum and monitor the palantír while controlling armies and weather with dark sorcery.

2

Théoden

One Of Lord Of The Rings’ Most Unsung Heroes

Like Sauron and Treebeard, Théoden’s role was critical in both the book and the movies, but slightly reduced for the trilogy. This didn’t have a hugely detrimental effect. A lot of Théoden’s heroism was given to Aragorn in the movies, and in the end, the trilogy got its knight in shining armor. It was probably more valuable to be able to create at least one truly memorable and effective knight than three flimsy ones. But Théoden is one of fantasy’s truest knights.

By his death, Théoden had developed from a gruff anti-hero of sorts to a true hero, which the movies scraped the surface of.

In the book, Merry’s allegiance to Théoden was a mark of his excellent judge of character. Merry could see Théoden for who he really was – an old, beleaguered king with a lot to lose and a lot to give. Théoden rallied the Men around him to face the Battle of Helm’s Deep in the book, but these lines were given to Aragorn in the movie. By his death, Théoden had developed from a gruff anti-hero of sorts to a true hero, which the movies scraped the surface of.

1

Saruman

The Corrupt Wizard Who Fell To Sauron

Saruman is unquestionably one of the most evil characters in The Lord of the Rings, but remarkably, he was always comprehensible – even in the movies. Christopher Lee’s exceptional Saruman was adored by fans and critics alike, but his death scene was lamentably cut from The Two Towers. This left Saruman’s arc bizarrely unfinished, especially considering how Peter Jackson also cut the Scouring of the Shire from Return of the King.

After peтιтioning from fans and Lee himself, Jackson added Saruman’s death as a scene to the extended edition of The Return of the King. This shocking scene distorts Saruman’s book death but provides a stunning and unforgettable coda to the character’s dark story, seeing him violently impaled on a spike. Nonetheless, Saruman’s role was hugely reduced in the movies from The Lord of the Rings book.