Could ‘The Lord of the Rings’ movies have included ‘The Scouring of the Shire?’

TV & Film

Aug 28

Image Source: Tell Me A Tale Great Or Small

On the surface, most people would probably say not. Given Tolkien’s professorial style of storytelling, adding this chapter to the narrative would take a lot in terms of time, money, and development expenditures. That being said, if they were to take the time and look further, it could probably be done, but some changes would have to be made.

RELATED:

Featured

Ciarán Hinds Rounds Out New Additions To Cast Of Season Two Of 'The Rings of Power' On Prime

Character Development

First of all, the scenes at Isengard would have to be significantly edited. Thankfully, there IS a scene set in Isengard in the book; it’s just that Saruman is not present in that scene, unlike in the movie. In the book, Wormtongue tries to harm Gandalf by chucking the Palantir at him from the top of Orthanc before disappearing. Following this, he and Saruman escape and head to the Shire. A scene could potentially be added showing their escape, but it would take away from the impact and surprise of the Hobbits returning to the Shire and seeing the devastation.

This scene, whether in the book or the movie, is still where Pippin gets hold of the Palantir. The difference between the versions, though, is excellent.

In the movie, Pippin only has a shadow of a vision before Gandalf takes it away; in the book, Pippin has his full vision, and this is where Gandalf determines that they must ride for Minas Tirith. In the movie, playing the scene the way it did sets up about twenty minutes of character and story development, particularly for Pippin. To remove these scenes would also take away from Merry’s development, thus making the impact of his character development less prominent as well.

Saruman’s interactions with Theoden in the Isengard scenes also sets up future scenes as they relate to Theoden’s reluctance to send troops to Gondor, along with his own character development. Granted, the events still do take place in either version, but the dramatic effect is greatly altered.

Run Time

In addition to having to remove or alter key scenes in the movie, you also have to consider run time constraints. To include ‘The Scouring of the Shire’ would first remove up to fifteen minutes of run time in terms of the scenes already mentioned. Balancing this with the fact that including the Scouring would add to the runtime would be a big ask.

The Scouring chapter also adds a lot to character development that, while not ENTIRELY essential to the story’s character development as structured in the movie, still leaves something to be desired. All we see in the movie is Sam’s wedding, then the fact that Frodo’s shoulder still hurts, and then BOOM! Time to leave. Including the Scouring would add more complexity to things like Frodo’s deep sorrow. Also, it would show that everything wasn’t all sunshine and daisies as soon as they returned home. The ending is NEVER simple.

More importantly, critics consider this penultimate chapter of ‘Return of the King’ to be one of its most important. It was intended to counterbalance the larger plot with a moral quest upon the Hobbits’ return home; this inevitably means that a lot of time would have to be dedicated to telling the story on-screen. Ideally, in the theatrical version, this would cover time already lost and add maybe forty-five minutes to the total run time. In the extended edition, who knows?

In conclusion, though it would enrich the story, adding ‘The Scouring of the Shire’, while adding to story development, would be a great undertaking in terms of both run time, story development, and budget.

READ NEXT:

Featured