10 Lord Of The Rings Book Characters We're Thankful Were Left Out Of The Movies
6. Halbarad
To understand why Halbarad was cut from the film adaptations, one must understand his origin. Like Aragorn, Halbarad is a Numenorean. This subspecies of Men were so highly respected by the Maia (gods), they were entrusted with "thrice the life of lesser men."
Even though they were percieved as the noblest of Men, the Maia lost faith in them after the Numenoreans illegally attempted to venture to the Undying Lands. Enraged, the Maia destroyed the land of Numenor, decimating the people's numbers.
Although several Numenoreans survived in the novel, it is implied that Aragorn is the last of his kind in the film, probably to give his character arc more weight.
In the novel, the only thing Halbarad does of great significance is help Aragorn track the Army of the Dead. But since Legolas and Gimli also accompany Aragorn to the Army's location, it felt pointless to insert Halbarad into the scene.
Also, since the origins of the Numenoreans is only briefly mentioned in the extended cut of The Two Towers, it was easier to leave Halbarad out of the film trilogy entirely.