Good Thing This Scene was Cut From Lord of the Rings: Return of the King Finale, Because it Would Have Changed Everything

The fate of Middle-earth and its inhabitants is uncertain virtually until the very end of The Lord of the Rings saga. Frodo must rely on Sam and his will. On the other hand, the united forces of men move to the Black Gate to challenge Sauron's army left behind in Mordor. It is at this point that Peter Jackson was planning something very different from what we eventually saw in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Aragorn comes face to face with the ruler of Mordor

In the original scene, along with the orcs, Sauron himself was supposed to appear on the battlefield. At first in a spiritual form, which would probably replicate his appearance as a Maia or Annatar. However, the Dark Lord would quickly materialize in the iconic movie armor and stand at the head of his army to lead it against the enemy. To duel Sauron, of course, would be Aragorn, who would face the eponymous Lord of the Rings exactly as his ancestors Elendil and Isildur after him did.

In the final version of the film there is a troll instead of Sauron, which definitely worked out for the production and avoided controversy. Perhaps a clash with Sauron would have been more spectacular, but at the same time inconsistent with the plot. Why? Because without the One Ring, the ruler of Mordor was unable to take material form and thus was trapped on top of Barad-dűr.

Related:Lord of the Rings Took a Creative Jab at Harvey Weinstein; Elijah Wood Recalls

Other than that a showy battle would certainly have stolen screen time from the pair of hobbits who were then approaching Mount Doom. And in The Lord of the Rings the point is to show how members of an unassuming race decided the future of Middle-earth, and how strong-willed they were when the theoretically more powerful and wiser quickly allowed themselves to be corrupted by the power offered by the ring.

In the final battle, Aragorn duels a troll, and the army of men still does its job and distracts the ruler of Mordor from the inconspicuous two, who is just a step away from destroying the One Ring.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy can be viewed on Amazon Prime Video.

More:Years Ago One of the Best Fantasy Franchises Was Deemed 'Unsuitable for Adaptation'