6. The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers
In The Fellowship of the Rings, Gandalf the Grey is presumed dead, ensnared down a pit in the Mines of Moria by the fiery Balrog. Its an almost parallel to Obi-Wans death in another trilogy that was the fans darling until the prequels, acting as motivation for the young hero. When what remains of the fellowship discover the wizard survived, now Gandalf the White, it should be a shock to both them and us the audience. Admittedly, the film does open with a revisit to his presumed death, showing a longer battle, but this is far from the suggestion of his survival, more a way to push on the audience the weight the journey is already having on Frodo. It is made very clear we are not meant to expect Gandalfs return, making us think the white wizard is in fact Christopher Lees Sauroman. But seeing him in a focal point on the cover makes it abundantly clear that Ian Mckellen is in it for the long haul. Now you could argue that being based on a popular series theres no need to worry. However, The Lord of the Rings is a much larger tome and a lot less widely read than the likes of The Hobbit. Not to mention that at no other point in the series (the theatrical cuts at least) is there any assumed knowledge from the books it simply whacks of poorly thought out design, particularly given bit player Liv Tyler's prominent position.
