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Summary
Peter Jackson included Legolas in hisThe Hobbittrilogy despite the character not being in J.R.R. Tolkien ’s book , but this is a variety the fabled source almost made for himself . Since Tolkien had n’t initially writtenThe Hobbitwith the intention of extending the story of Bilbo ’s tintinnabulation , there were several inconsistencies between this novel and hisThe Lord of the Ringsseries . As it turns out , this instigate the writer to go back and attempt to rewriteThe Hobbitto fit better with the massively democratic continued story , but it never chance .
Tolkien ’s first published work set in Middle - earth was released in 1937 , andit was n’t until much by and by that he decided that the anchor ring inThe Hobbitwas an evil weapon make by the Dark Lord Sauron . Since this whole account was n’t be after out ahead of time , there are some mutual exclusiveness between the prequel andThe Lord of the Rings . concord to the bookThe Hobbit : Mr Baggins and Return to Bag - Endby John D. Rateliff , Tolkien attempted to rewriteThe Hobbitin the 1960sto correct these inconsistencies but give up the labor after only a few chapter .
Peter Jackson ’s Lord of the Rings trilogy was a groundbreaking achievement in film , but The Hobbit did n’t come nigh to that level . What happened ?
Tolkien (Probably) Would Have Added Legolas Into The Hobbit Before Jackson’s Movies
We ca n’t have a go at it for sure what Tolkien would havechanged in hisThe Hobbitrewrite , butsince his goal was to produce gluiness withThe Lord of the Rings , it ’s probable that several details from Frodo ’s journeying would have been add . Most of this would have revolve around the Ring . Perhaps there would have been more of a mark that this bauble had a powerful pull on Gollum . Then , of course , it would have been necessary to provide some tinge regarding the effect the One Ring was having on Bilbo by the closing of the story .
Still , the One Ring was n’t the only commonalty betweenThe HobbitandThe Lord of the Rings . Since Legolas was confirm to be the son of King Thranduil , and since Mirkwood was among the location search in the prequel account , it ’s consistent that Tolkien would have added a reference to Legolas toThe Hobbit . After all , there ’s no reason that the next appendage of the Fellowship of the Ring would n’t be there during Bilbo and the Dwarf ’s thicket with Thranduil .
Legolas might not have played a significant part in Tolkien ’s rewrite ofThe Hobbit , but the author surely would have mentioned the Elf . Were this the case , it would mean that the grandfather of fantasyretconned thisHobbitdetaila half - century before Jackson , obviate the need for theLord of the Ringsdirector to ruin the character .
All threeThe Hobbitmovies are available to check on Max and Hulu .
Why The Hobbit Trilogy Including Legolas Still Didn’t Work
Tolkien get it on crime syndicate trees and meticulous consistency , so it ’s easy to reckon that he would have included Legolas in a rewrite of the Mirkwood scenes ofThe Hobbit . In a modest manner , this apologize Jackson ’s conclusion to do so in his 2012 movie . Ultimately , it was n’t the decision to add Legolas to theHobbitmovie that was a problem . Rather , Jackson locomote about this character ’s participation in Bilbo ’s story in altogether the wrong way .
Had Tolkien included Legolas in his young variation ofThe Hobbit , he belike would have played a negligible role . It ’s even more probable that the Elf would have just been identify as the son of Thranduil , with no lines or interaction with Bilbo or the Dwarves . This would have allowed for improved cohesiveness between the two stories without too importantly altering what he had ab initio write . However , since Jackson ’s decision to bring Orlando Bloom in onThe Hobbitwas more probably influenced by how wildly popularLegolas had been in hisLord of the Ringsmovies , he palm thing a different way .
It can be assumed that Tolkien would n’t have allow this character to take over the plot entirely , and he sure would n’t have come in him in a love trilateral ( competing with a Dwarf ) .
In Jackson’sThe Hobbittrilogy , Legolas had a monumental function in the report and was a incessant feature throughout . In a sense , Bloom was even more prevalent in this prequel motion-picture show than he had been in the originalLord of the Ringsmovies , and this was extremely thwarting . It can be assumed that Tolkien would n’t have allow this theatrical role to take over the plot entirely , and hecertainlywouldn’t have rank him in a love trilateral ( competing with a Dwarf ) . In the terminal , Jackson ’s decision to retcon Legolas ' involvement inThe Hobbitfelt like a money snatch — not the form of move Tolkien was known for .
