5. Dain Ironfoot Doesn't Kill Azog (The Pale Orc)
As he promised ahead of the film's release, Peter Jackson took to the Lord of the Rings Appendices to flesh out the story of The Hobbit, and one element he explored and embellished is the story of Azog the Defiler, the Orc warrior who killed Thorin Oakenfield's grandfather Thror at the battle of Azanulbizar. In the original texts, Azog kills Thror, as well as his cousin Nain Ironfoot, but was then killed by Dain's son Nain Ironfoot, who will be played by Billy Connolly in the Hobbit film sequels. But in the film, Jackson has chosen to keep extend Azog's story, keeping him alive after the battle for Moria, where instead of being killed by Dain, he has his arm chopped off by Thorin, who takes up a branch of oak as a shield (thus earning the name Oakenshield) when attacked - all of which we see in a flashback explaining why Thorin is the leader of the party of dwarves. Azog is dragged away by some of his fellow Orcs and Thorin assumed he died, only to find later that the pale Orc survived and is out for revenge. This additional chase element of having the Orc pack and their terribly CGIed Wargs (wolf-like creatures) adds a dramatic element that simply wasn't in the original text, and allows for more moments of tension, to manufacture more of a climax for the end of the first chapter. It also allows Bilbo to prove himself to Thorin, as he saves the wounded dwarf's life, and because Azog once more escapes with his life, despite his pack being decimated by a Great Eagles attack summoned by Gandalf, it suggests further drama will come in the sequels.