The Lord of the Rings franchise is an incredible trilogy of movies that have stood the test of time and remained incredibly popular to this day. Taking the trio of novels into movies was something that many people were excited about, and Peter Jackson did a tremendous in putting the stories onto the silver screen.
However, as with any book adaptation, there were moments that simply didn’t make the cut. Even though all three movies are very long, they didn’t get to fit in absolutely everything from the books, simply because the books were so detailed.
While there are specific storyline moments that aren’t put into the films, the biggest decisions saw several major characters be left out of the trilogy completely. Despite being featured in the books, they simply didn’t make the cut, and in this list, we will reveal 10 examples of characters from the books that were omitted from the movies.
Glorfindel
We will kickstart the list with Glorfindel, who is one of the most impressive elves within the books. He is someone who is able to come back from the dead to defeat a Balrog before the trilogy begins, and he has incredible power as well as fantastic looks.
In the books, he is sent by Lord Elrond to retrieve Frodo Baggins, and he is the one who saves him from the Nazgûl. However, his moment of glory is actually given to Arwen within the movie, which was probably a wise decision considering the lack of strong female characters within the entire franchise.
Fredegar ‘Fatty’ Bolger
Speaking of Frodo Baggins, in the movies we see the group of four Hobbits that take on the task of destroying the One Ring, and they are the people we follow. However in the books there is one more Hobbit who helps out prior to them leaving for Rivendell, which is Fredegar ‘Fatty’ Bolger.
He doesn’t leave and go on the adventure (which is likely why he was cut), but he does house-sit for Frodo, and make it appear that he was still in The Shire. It’s not a major part, but it does add an extra layer to the story and their work to try and deceive the evil powers that lurked.
Goldberry
Goldberry is the wife of a character who will appear later in this list and is someone who the Hobbits become enchanted with when they meet her. She actually plays hostess to them and gives them a place to eat and sleep before their big adventure, which feels like a character they could have put in.
She could have just been placed into the movie, even if it was a quick scene. However, clearly Peter Jackson felt that she deserved either a bigger role or nothing at all, and in the end, they opted for the latter.
The Orc Chieftain
This is an example of how Peter Jackson did include certain characters from the books but made a few tweaks to them. The Battle of the Chamber of Mazarbul is arguably the best scene from the first movie, and in the books, it features The Orc Chieftain.
He is a large orc with a big spear who is the main threat to the group, however, in the movie he was changed. Instead of an orc, the film had a huge cave troll take part to make everything seem even more thrilling and scary, which was an excellent decision.
More Wizards
In the films, the only wizards we see are Gandalf and Saruman, and while they play a big role in the movies and are featured heavily, it would have been interesting to see a few more wizards added. The wizards add a different dynamic to the movies, and there are more within the story.
Radagast is one example, but he was at least added during The Hobbit trilogy. However, neither Pallando or Alatar manage to make an appearance in any of the six films, which is a shame. Even though they are only mentioned in passing in the book, these are the types of characters that would have added a lot to the films.
The Maggot Family
Another set of characters who weren’t massively featured in the books but could have been fun to add into the movies were the Maggot Family. We did get a taste of Farmer Maggot in the films, as he shouts at Merry and Pippin for stealing mushrooms from his farm.
But in the books, they actually spend some time with the Hobbits, taking them in and feeding them and exchanging stories. They give them food for the journey, rather than having the heroes rob them right at the start. Perhaps they could have been shown in that manner, just passing on some food as a nod to this part of the novel?
Elrohir & Elladan
In the books, both Elrohir and Elladan play major roles, which is why it seems strange that they’d be left out. Not only are they close friends with Aragorn, but they are also the sons of Elrond, meaning they link massively with two huge characters.
In the books, they actually follow Aragorn to the paths of the dead, proving how loyal and important they are to the story. Perhaps, Peter Jackson wanted to make sure Legolas and Gimli felt bigger and more important to Aragorn, but this could have added a lot to the films.
Rangers Of The North
The Dúnedain (Rangers of the North) do appear within the movies, however, there are nowhere near as many of them as there should be. Granted, in the books this ancient race are only down to a few dozen members due to what has happened in Middle Earth.
However, that’s better than what you get in the film, where Aragorn is literally alone as the final one. While it does make him stand out and feel important, it would have been nice to see him have a few brothers in arms, particularly for the final movie.
Tom Bombadil
One of the major characters that was neglected from the movies was Tom Bombadil, who was one of the most obvious missing characters. This character does only appear in The Fellowship of the Ring, so that is perhaps a reason he wasn’t included in the movie, but the rhyming man could have played a big role.
In the book, Bombadil appears as the Hobbits pass through the Old Forest. He has an amazing power that could resist the temptation of the One Ring, as he explains the difficulties of life outside of The Shire. He was a very popular character in the books though, and his fun poems could have made an exciting moment early on in the film.
The Barrow-Wight
Because Tom Bombadil wasn’t placed into the movies, the Barrow-Wight was never going to be involved. This moment takes place in an entire chapter prior to the Hobbits going to the Prancing Pony, with the Barrow-Wight capturing everyone other than Frodo.
It is up to Frodo to go and rescue them, and he uses a song that he learnt from his companion…Tom Bombadil. Frodo manages to banish the Barrow-Wight away, which could have helped to develop Frodo a little more, but in the end, the ghostly character might have just been too much to fit in.
