Lord Of The Rings: 10 Things Only TRUE Fans Understand

6. Aragorn Is 87 Years Old

Lord of the rings
New Line Cinema

In the extended cut of The Two Towers, Aragorn informs Eowyn that he met her grandfather decades ago. Despite looking like a man in his 40s, Eowyn is bewildered to learn that Aragorn is 87 years old. He explains that his youthful appearance is due to being a Numenorean; a race of Men blessed with long life.

Because the film doesn't mention anything else about the Numenoreans, the scene was cut as it was unnecessary and confusing. So, what is a Numenorean and what happened to them?

Although Men are considered to be easily corruptible, the gods of Middle-Earth believed the Numenoreans to be the greatest of Men and so, rewarded them by extending their life span. When several Numenoreans tried to venture to the Undying Lands, which is forbidden for Men to enter, the gods destroyed their homeland. Only a handful of Numenoreans managed to survive and escaped to the four corners of Middle-Earth. As their numbers dwindled, Aragorn became one of the only survivors of a once great race.

It would've been cool to incorporate this backstory into the films since it shows that Aragorn must prove his worth after his people and his ancestor, Isildur, tarnished reputation of Men.

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Contributor

James Egan has written 80 books including 1000 Facts about Superheroes Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about TV Shows Vol. 1-3 Twitter - @jameswzegan85