Road to The Hunt for Gollum
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The Lord of the Rings characters
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AragornThe Ranger of the North who carries a bigger name than he cares to admit
Frodo BagginsThe hobbit from the Shire who inherits a ring too dangerous to keep
GandalfThe wizard in the pointy hat who keeps dragging hobbits out of their homes
GollumThe cave creature who can't stop thinking about his precious
Easter eggs
Hidden details in every movie and series: 42 in total. Tap a poster to see its eggs. Titles you haven't marked as seen stay locked so nothing gets spoiled.
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- Referencenod to comics or other movies
- Cameoa familiar face shows up
- Setupplanted now, pays off later
- Behind the scenesproduction trivia
- ReferenceHarfoots, the hobbits' ancestors
The Harfoots come straight from Tolkien: the prologue of The Lord of the Rings names them as one of the three hobbit lineages. The show gave them Irish accents to set them apart.
source ↗ - ReferenceNúmenor, Tolkien's Atlantis
Míriel's island kingdom is Tolkien's take on the Atlantis myth. He called the story of Númenor his own Atlantis legend.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesAn audition with Paradise Lost
Charlie Vickers auditioned for Halbrand with a monologue from John Milton's Paradise Lost, the poem about Lucifer's fall. Quite the clue, in hindsight.
source ↗ - SetupWhat the Stranger says
Pay attention to what the Stranger tells Nori. Some of his lines echo a very familiar Middle-earth character. This comes back later.
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- ReferenceTom Bombadil, finally on screen
Tom Bombadil, whom Peter Jackson left out of his films, shows up here played by Rory Kinnear. The costume follows Tolkien: blue jacket, yellow boots and a feathered hat.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesGoldberry keeps it in the family
Goldberry, Tom's wife, is only heard, never seen. She's voiced by Raya Yarbrough, wife of the show's composer, Bear McCreary.
source ↗ - CameoThe old Sauron
In the flashback that opens the season, Sauron appears in an earlier physical form, played by Jack Lowden of Slow Horses.
source ↗ - SetupRemember the name Narvi
Narvi, the Dwarf played by Kevin Eldon, is a name taken from Tolkien. It's written somewhere in Middle-earth that the saga will show later.
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- ReferenceThe daughter with no name
The story comes from the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, in the House of Eorl section. There, Helm's daughter doesn't even get a name: Héra was created for the film.
source ↗ - CameoPippin and Merry as orcs
The orcs Shank and Wrot are voiced by Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan, Pippin and Merry in Peter Jackson's films.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesArchival Christopher Lee
Saruman speaks with the voice of Christopher Lee, who died in 2015. The production used archival recordings made for the Hobbit films.
source ↗ - SetupOrcs hunting for rings
Watch the orcs searching for rings on behalf of a master we never see. This comes back later.
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- CameoPeter Jackson flees the dragon
In the prologue, when Smaug attacks Erebor, Peter Jackson shows up as one of the Dwarf refugees running from the dragon.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesThe first at 48 frames
It was the first wide-release feature shot and projected at 48 frames per second, double the standard. Critics were split, and most theaters ran the 24 fps version.
source ↗ - ReferenceThe Misty Mountains song
The Dwarves' song at Bilbo's house uses lyrics straight from Tolkien's book. Howard Shore turned the melody into a theme that keeps returning in the score.
source ↗ - SetupA ring in the dark
Bilbo finds a ring on the floor of Gollum's cave and pockets it without telling anyone. This comes back later.
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- CameoThe carrot man in Bree
In the opening scene in Bree, Peter Jackson walks by eating a carrot. It's the same cameo he'd already done in another film in the saga.
source ↗ - CameoStephen Colbert in Lake-town
Famous Tolkien fan Stephen Colbert appears with his family as Lake-town spies.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesDouble Cumberbatch
Benedict Cumberbatch provided voice and motion capture for both Smaug and the Necromancer.
source ↗ - SetupBard's black arrow
Bard keeps hidden the black arrow his ancestor fired at Smaug in Dale. Remember that arrow.
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- Behind the scenesIt was There and Back Again
The film was originally called There and Back Again, the book's subtitle. Once the story became three films, Jackson felt the name no longer fit, and it changed in 2014.
source ↗ - CameoBilly Boyd sings goodbye
The end-credits song, The Last Goodbye, was written and recorded by Billy Boyd, Pippin in the Lord of the Rings films.
source ↗ - CameoDaughters in Smaug's attack
Among the girls fleeing Smaug's attack on Lake-town are the daughters of Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis.
source ↗ - SetupA ranger called Strider
At the end, Thranduil tells Legolas to seek out a ranger in the north who goes by Strider. This comes back later.
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- CameoCarrot outside the Pony
When the hobbits reach Bree in the rain, Peter Jackson is on the street, biting into a carrot.
source ↗ - ReferenceArwen instead of Glorfindel
In the book, the Elf Glorfindel carries Frodo to the Ford of Bruinen. The film gave the scene to Arwen and dropped Tom Bombadil entirely.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesAragorn was recast
Stuart Townsend started as Aragorn, but Jackson felt he was too young. Viggo Mortensen read the book on the plane, got a crash course in fencing and began with the Weathertop scenes.
source ↗ - SetupEyes in the dark of Moria
In Moria, a pair of eyes and a nose follow the Fellowship. Gandalf knows who it is. This comes back later.
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- CameoJackson throws a spear
At Helm's Deep, Peter Jackson is one of the men on top of the gate hurling spears at the Uruk-hai.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesAragorn's scream is real
When Aragorn kicks the orc helmet and screams in rage, Viggo Mortensen had just broken two toes. The take stayed in the film.
source ↗ - ReferenceElves who aren't in the book
In the book, no Elves fight at Helm's Deep. The writers brought in Haldir and his archers, inspired by passages in Tolkien's appendices.
source ↗ - SetupShe could help
In the final scene, Gollum talks to himself and decides to take the hobbits to "her." He doesn't say who. This comes back later.
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- CameoJackson on the Corsair ship
Peter Jackson appears on the Corsair ship. In the Extended Edition, he shares the scene with cinematographer Andrew Lesnie and other crew members. Sam's hand in the Shelob scene is his, too.
source ↗ - CameoHoward Shore at the Edoras feast
In the Extended Edition, composer Howard Shore appears as a celebrating soldier at Edoras.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesEleven nominations, eleven Oscars
The film won all 11 Oscars it was nominated for, including Best Picture. That tied Ben-Hur and Titanic for the most ever.
source ↗ - ReferenceThe chapter that got cut
The book has a chapter where the hobbits return and free the Shire. The writers found it anticlimactic and cut it. Saruman's final scene is only in the Extended Edition.
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- Behind the scenesMade by future Ghibli staff
The animation was done in Japan by Topcraft, a studio whose team later reformed as Studio Ghibli under Hayao Miyazaki.
source ↗ - ReferenceArthur Rackham's style
The look was inspired by the illustrations of Arthur Rackham, the master of early 20th-century fairy-tale books.
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- Behind the scenesFilmed, then traced
Bakshi shot scenes with live actors and traced over them, a technique called rotoscoping. The film stops at Helm's Deep: part two was never made.
source ↗ - ReferenceThe film that made Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson says this film is what got him to read the book. His trilogy pays homage to it: the shot of the hobbit who shouts "Proudfeet!" during Bilbo's party speech copies an angle from Bakshi's film.
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- Behind the scenesA sequel to another film
Despite the title, it isn't a sequel to Bakshi's film. Rankin/Bass made it as a follow-up to its own 1977 The Hobbit, with the same Japanese team.
source ↗ - Behind the scenesOne voice, two Bagginses
Orson Bean voices Bilbo, as in the 1977 film, and Frodo too. John Huston returns as Gandalf.
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Timeline
when each title takes placeSecond Age
Second Age
The Rings of Power · S1Galadriel hunts an old enemy in the Second Age
Second Age
The Rings of Power · S2The forging of the rings
Second Age
The Rings of Power · S3Premieres 11/11/2026
Third Age
183 years before Frodo
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the RohirrimAnime about Helm Hammerhand, King of Rohan
60 years before Frodo
The Hobbit: An Unexpected JourneyBilbo sets out with thirteen dwarves
60 years before Frodo
The Hobbit: The Desolation of SmaugThe Lonely Mountain and the dragon
60 years before Frodo
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five ArmiesThe war over Erebor's treasure
between the two trilogies
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for GollumThe marathon's destination; premieres 12/17/2027.
Third Age, 3018The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the RingThe Fellowship forms
Third Age, 3019The Lord of the Rings: The Two TowersRohan, Helm's Deep and the road to Mordor
Third Age, 3019The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingThe war reaches Gondor
Original text by Sagaticket. Posters: The Movie Database (TMDB); character photos via Wikipedia. This site uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB. All trademarks and titles mentioned belong to their respective owners. Streaming availability may change.