3 Key Ways The Hobbit Movies Will Differ From The Book
3. More Pronounced Role of Sauron
Of old there was Sauron the Maia, whom the Sindar of Beleriand named Gorthaur. In the beginning of Arda, Melkor seduced him to his allegiance - The Silmarillion Background Its mind-blowing to me to think that, even after The Return of the King was published as the third and final part of The Lord of the Rings in October 1955, little was truly known about the series titular antagonist- the enigmatic dark sorceror Sauron. Many people, with no access to Tolkiens wealth of as-yet-unpublished notes and writings, speculated that he might have been one of the first Elves who had accepted the summons to journey to Valinor. W. H. Auden was closer to the mark, when he hazarded that Sauron might have been a member of the Valar, years before it became widely known that Tolkien had described him as one of the Maiar. Though of the same race as that of Gandalf and Saruman, he was of a "far higher order" than those who would later come to Middle-earth as members of the Istari. Nowadays the discerning Tolkien fan can uncover the entirety of Saurons origins, as far back as his early role among the Maiar who served the Vala Aulë- the great craftsman of the Valar. It was during this time that he would learn the craft that would one day prove instrumental in helping him forge the Rings of Power. After his defeat during the War of the Last Alliance, which is depicted in the opening sequence of Jacksons Fellowship of the Ring, he retreated to the hill Amon Lanc in Mirkwood and wrought for himself a dreadful fortress, where he cloaked himself in shadow away from the world in an effort to recuperate his terrible power. This was a slow process, for he was without the One Ring within which he had poured a great deal of his former strength. However, as he recovered, the presence of his evil in Mirkwood became evident to the wise, and the source of the malevolence that seeped from Dol Goldur was attributed to a being they named the Necromancer. Unfortunately they did not correctly perceive this to be the return of Sauron, but rather one of his lieutenants- perhaps the Witch King of Angmar or another of the Nazgûl, until Gandalfs suspicions grew, bringing us to the events of The Hobbit. Film vs Book The dungeons of the Necromancer are mentioned in The Hobbit book, as Gandalf recounts the story of how he was given the map of the Lonely Mountain by King Thráin II, son of Thrór and father of Thorin Oakenshield. Gandalf recounts the sad story of how he finds Thráin on the verge of insanity in these black dungeons. When the dwarves mention seeking revenge at some point on the Necromancer, Gandalfs blunt retort ominously conveys the power and might of this mysterious sorcerer - an enemy quite beyond the powers of all the dwarves put together, if they could all be collected again from the four corners of the world Little else is mentioned of him, except when Bilbo overhears that he was driven out of Mirkwood. We can see from the movie trailers that Gandalf visits Dol Goldur (we may well see a flashback of him encountering Thráin there) but Benedict Cumberbatch has also confirmed that he has shot motion capture sequences for Sauron, indicating that we are likely to see some manner of physical representation of Sauron in the movies, as well as hearing his voice (Cumberbatch will voice Smaug and the Necromancer across the trilogy). More emphasis may also be made of Sauron's attempts to ally himself with Smaug, again something that is only lightly hinted at in The Hobbit book.