The Hobbit Trilogy: 5 Changes That Worked And 5 That Didn't
1. Bilbo's Age
In Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings books, observations are made multiple times about how Bilbo never appears to age, looking essentially the same as he did on his journey to Erebor as he does when he departs for the Undying Lands at the end of Return Of The King. In the Hobbit, Bilbo begins his adventure at the age of 51, being 111 years old when he eventually leaves Middle Earth. Jackson's films, for obvious reasons, have had two different actors play Bilbo: Ian Holm and Martin Freeman. For any hope at maintining continuity, Jackson had no choice but to re-cast Bilbo for a younger actor to play - Ian Holm being simply too old to play a 51-year-old version of the character. It's a messy situation that Jackson didn't have the hindsight to avoid due to making the Rings films first, but the director made the right decision by including small cameo scenes for Ian Holm's version of the hobbit at the end of The Battle Of The Five Armies.
Joe is a freelance games journalist who, while not spending every waking minute selling himself to websites around the world, spends his free time writing. Most of it makes no sense, but when it does, he treats each article as if it were his Magnum Opus - with varying results.
