The Lord of the Rings Trilogy did many things for the film industry. From state of the art special effects, to unprecedented behind the scene access, to groundbreaking extended cuts that the fans demanded, the Lord of the Rings opened up an entire new world to Hollywood, one that would strengthen the bond between fans and studios by giving them what they want, but also by padding the pockets of the studios with well earned money.
But the most special thing that the Lord of the Rings created was that it gave a new generation of movie goers, and fanboys alike, their "Star Wars". It would define a generation and give them something that was forever, completely their own.
Now with the Hobbit trilogy on the horizon, the fanboy in me can't help but get excited again. The Lord of the Rings trilogy wasn't that long ago but if you step back and think about it, the Fellowship came out in 2001, eleven years ago! Talk about feeling old!
What I'm most excited for is for a new generation to discover their own Star Wars, their own Lord of the Rings. I have faith in Peter Jackson and his amazing team that they will deliver with an amazing journey that will create an all new phenomenon across the world, that will open this most cherished story to a new generation of fans.
In the spirit of an unexpected journey, I wanted to speculate (and be as fanboyish as possible) as to what may or may not be left out of the Hobbit movies from the book. We all have seen the trailers with the stone giants which couldn't be any more of an obscure detail to put in the movie but as we all know, some things just don't make it. So here are my top story details from the book that will (possibly) be omitted from the movies. Enjoy!
1.) Talking Creatures
In the Hobbit more so than any of Tolkien's other books, creatures voice their opinions quite often. In the Hobbit, Wargs, eagles, spiders, and birds all voice their concerns to the Dwarves and Bilbo. Though it is a small detail that would needlessly be put into the film, the fact that animals and other creatures would speak could add to the story book feel of the Hobbit. Peter Jackson already showed the eagles in the Fellowship and Return of the King but we haven't had a chance to see if they speak or not. Though when Thorin and crew are in Erebor they are brought word by an old ass bird that war is coming which happens to be a pretty important bit of info. So if animals don't speak I don't know what they're going to do. But I'll admit that spiders and Wargs that don't speak are much scarier but I'd love to hear the spiders discontent with Bilbo calling them Attercop in song!
2.) Songs
For fans of the book, it is well known that Tolkien loved music. Songs of all kinds are peppered throughout the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit. And if you are a uber geek like me you have listened to the Hobbit soundtrack previews and know that they have at least included two important songs. Like talking creatures, I believe songs would help create that story book feel of the Hobbit. But if we can gauge how many songs that will make it into the Hobbit by the amount that made it into the Lord of the Rings, we can't really hope for many others than the two we know of. It took the extended cuts of the original trilogy to feature the amazing collection of songs that Tolkien created so if and when the Hobbit extended cuts are released we can hope that they will include many more of the cherished songs.
3.) Relationships
I do not doubt that The Hobbit will do the books justice in its character's relationships but what I am talking about is the specific moments and interactions that make the Hobbit what it is. For those of you who don't know, the Hobbit is about Bilbo and 13 other dwarves who all have names quite similar to each other. I mean, Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Kili, Fili, Dori, Ori, Nori...come on! And it's very easy to get them all mixed up but there are certain roles that they play throughout the story that facilitates very special moments to which I speak. Balin in particular was perhaps the most friendly to Bilbo out of all of them. He would help carry Bilbo and also volunteered to venture into the mountain with him. Without spoiling anything, there are just many moments where the dwarves become individuals in their interactions with Bilbo. I just hope that they don't give these moments to the better looking (future heartthrob Legolas-types) dwarves to give them more screen time.
4.) The Elves Vanishing Party
One of my favorite parts of the Hobbit was their strange adventures in Mirkwood. From the spiders to the elves, everything about their time in the dark wood brought them to the verge of failure and even death. Though the journey through Mirkwood was dangerous, there was the alluring intrigue of the vanishing party of the elves. Every time Bilbo or one of the dwarves would approach the lavish party in the heart of the forest, the lights would go out and the elves and the food would vanish. Now, it leaves to be seen how Peter Jackson and company will handle this if they even do at all but I doubt that it will capture that strangeness that it had in the book. The way that Tolkien describes it, leaves it open to the reader to truly understand how it feels, much like the Barrow Downs in the Fellowship of the Ring. But that part of the book was omitted which doesn't give me hope that the parties would make it into the movie.
5.) Tom Bombadil
This one isn't as much of a joke as you may think. Back a few months ago, TheOneRing.net reported on a report that since the beloved Tom Bombadil didn't make it into the LOTR, that he would make an appearance in the Hobbit. Now Tom was never part of the Hobbit, but the new trilogy promises to show much more of Middle Earth than we believed. Tolkien's personal notes and appendices are being drawn from to help bridge the gap between the trilogies and to expand upon what Gandalf went off and did while the travelers were in Mirkwood. This leaves me to hope that Tom might make an appearance in some small form that would just be a little nod to the fans of the beloved character that didn't make it into the films. Though, this is just a rumor and I've learned to never trust rumors behind Peter Jackson's work. He is very honest and open with his films and I think that Tom will only ever live inside of the pages of Tolkien's work, which is good enough for me!
Anything I may have missed? Anything you disagree with? Let me know!
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