Lord Of The Rings: 10 Things Only TRUE Fans Understand
2. What Happened To Saruman?
Many viewers were disappointed that Saruman was absent from the final film in the LOTR trilogy. Considering he was the main physical villain of the series, it seemed anticlimactic for his character to have no real conclusion.
In the extended cut of The Return of the King, we see Saruman have a brief battle with Gandalf before he is killed by his servant, Wormtongue.
However, Saruman's story was drastically different in the novel. After Saruman's army is vanquished by the Ents, Gandalf strips his former mentor of his powers and banishes him from Isengard.
After Sauron is defeated, peace is restored throughout Middle-Earth and the hobbits head back to The Shire only to learn their home has been pillaged and its people enslaved by Saruman (who is now calling himself Sharkey for some reason).
Frodo infiltrates Saruman's base and orders the White Wizard to leave. In a fit of rage, Wormtongue turns on his master and stabs him to death. When Wormtongue tries to run, he in turn is slain by archers, putting an end to The War of the Ring. This scene was probably not incorporated into the The Return of the King because that film already had waaaaaay too many endings.