10 More Deleted Movie Scenes That Explain Confusing Movie Moments
5. Saruman's Death - The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King
In what must surely be one of the most infamous and controversial deleted scenes in cinema history, the villainous Saruman (Christopher Lee) basically just vanishes from the theatrical Lord of the Rings franchise.
After getting a solid showing in the first two films, he's nowhere to be seen in the trilogy-capper Return of the King, despite audiences quite understandably expecting him to return.
Much to Christopher Lee's own displeasure, his role was cut entirely from the movie and saved for the 252-minute Extended Edition.
Given that this deleted material includes Saruman's death, it's a vital element of the story and one which Peter Jackson was basically wrong to cut out.
At least the Extended Editions are popular enough in their own right that they've basically supplanted the theatrical releases as the "definitive" versions of the three films.