12 Deleted Movie Scenes With WAY Better Answers
10. Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King - Saruman's Death
As one of the most acclaimed fantasy trilogies in film history, The Lord of The Rings was a near flawless adaptation that brought Tolkien's vision to the big screen in a sublime manner.
It did have the occasional gap here and there however. Argaubly the most notable is the fate of Saruman, a once noble mage who switched sides to join Sauron. In the opening of Return of The King, Gandalf, Aragorn and company visit Saruman's ruined base.
A lacklustre line from Ian McKellen states he has no power anymore and can therefore be left alone.
The thing is, Saruman was effectively the leading villain in The Two Towers and it was a little disappointing to see his character written out of the story at the start of Return of The King. Many audiences would much rather have seen a proper send-off rather than a basic line. Director Peter Jackson said Saruman's demise was cut for time and pacing reasons.
Luckily though, the production studio added a scene back in when putting together the extended editions of the three films. The death scene we got for the corrupted wizard is firmly conclusive and more than a bit graphic.
After getting backstabbed by his former servant Grima, he falls onto a wheeled spike at the now-flooded Isengard.