2. Gandalf Battles Ringwraiths On Weathertop
From: The Fellowship of the Ring
In the film: Frodo and his Hobbit friends meet the mysterious guy Strider (Aragorn) in a Bree bar and head out on the road with him. At dusk on the second day, Aragorn suggests they rest for a night at a fortified hill called Weathertop.
In the book: Just like the journey to Bree, the road to Weathertop has a bit more detail. They still camp there in the book, but the night before reaching it, Aragorn and the Hobbits look out toward Weathertop and see flashing lights. From Tolkien:
What is that light? he said to Strider, who had risen, and was standing, gazing ahead into the night. I do not know, Strider answered. It is too distant to make out. It is like lightning that leaps up from the hill-tops. Frodo lay down again, but for a long while he could still see the white flashes, and against them the tall dark figure of Strider, standing silent and watchful.
The company later mentions these flashes to Gandalf, who states that what they saw was his epic battle with the Ringwraiths.
Why It Would Have Been Awesome:: Unfortunately, the filmmakers changed the timeline around so that there is no possible way Gandalf could have been on Weathertop in time to fight the Ringwraiths. Despite that, we cant deny that this would have been an awesome showdown, whether it was a whole scene or just a flashback. This also have been a great opportunity to show off Gandalfs flashy magic. For being a great wizard, Gandalf really doesn't really do all that much offensive magic with his staff. When hes not lighting off fireworks with it, he's using it as a light in the dark. When he fights the Balrog, he lights it up brightly. And when driving off the Fell Beasts in The Return of the King, he. . .lights it up again (just REALLY bright this time!). A fight with the Ringwraiths could have been been a nice time to showcase Gandalf's abilities (and prove to everyone he isn't just carrying around a six-foot-long flashlight). And honestly, it's GANDALF VS RINGWRAITHS. Who wouldn't want to see that?