What character would you have added?

"As for myself," said Eomer, "I have little knowledge of these deep matters; but I need it not."
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Chief Counsellor of Gondor
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Another article I came across over the holiday is Viggo Mortensen answering what character he would have liked to see added to the films:

https://www.indiewire.com/2020/12/viggo ... 234606106/

Of course this one got me thinking back to if I could add 1 character from the books to the films, who would I want?

It would have been great to add maybe Glorfindel, Gildor, or Elladan and Elrohir but I understand the decision to not include them. Afterall, I think the end of the Third Age is sort of the end of the Elves in Middle-earth.

More than anything else I think Gondor got the shaft in terms of characters. Rohan you have Theoden, Eomer, Eowyn and some periphery characters like Gamling and Hama that paint the picture of what Rohan's people are like. Gondor it's just Denethor and Faramir, that's it. The rest appear to be nameless soldiers that are just fodder for orcs. I didn't get any idea of Gondor's depth or history, because they don't get any periphery characters.

So I narrowed it down to either Imrahil or Beregond. With a slight edge to Imrahil because I think it would have gone a long way (and been relatively simple) to have Pippin witness the lords and captains from Gondor's fiefdoms bringing in their armies. Nice scene from the books that I don't think would have been too difficult to add.
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Awesome answer from Viggo there! :thumbs: It's such a small thing, but it would have really been something to see. If I were adding a character I think it would be Beregond because of his interactions with Pippin. And because he stood up to Denethor's madness. I would have loved to see that scene in RotK.

BTW could people (and by people I mean folks who write articles) stop complaining about the length of the movie? We binge watch shows on Netflix all the time, and sitting for 10 hours straight watching *insert show of choice* is not a problem, but the length of FotR/TTT/RotK is? *grumbles into the void*
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I would have added a non-canon lady elf to fall in love with Gimli while being in a love triangle with Legolas :moon:

But really, my first thought was Imrahil, before I read the article or the posts, but I was immediately convinced upon reading the name Beregond. I think that's probably my favorite possible answer upon reflection. However, for the sake of more creative thought exercising, I will also suggest having an actual Quickbeam, as that would force some more depth into the portrayal of the Ents. I'm pretty sure he teeeechnically appears with no dialogue or identification in the movie itself, but I think him being a real character would have been excellent. I still love the idea of having Beregond though.

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I like Viggo's answer choosing Ghan-Buri-Ghan. I <3 you Viggo!

Personally I'd say either Beregond or Imrahil. Both play important roles in the book which have an immense effect on some major characters and their story arcs.

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Is it cheating if I say Sharkey? It's criminal we got no Scouring of the Shire.

Failing that, I think Bill Ferny would have been an achievable character to include, and with purpose. Or Poor Fatty Bolger, being a part of the conspiracy and staying behind to face the Black Riders, and not getting a look in for screen time.

But I have a very Hobbit-centric view of the story.

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@Woggy Hardbotom poor Fatty Bolger. I really do wish he'd made it in -- in the extendeds, at least! -- but I do get them wanting to get the Hobbits to Bree as quickly as possible in the theatrical releases.
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Ohhh I like all these answers Fatty is a favourite as is Imrahil.

Fatty because yeah we see glimpses of other hobbits that are staying back but the only ones we know a lot about movie wise and interact with are the SBs which aren't the best representations of the homebody hobbits (Farmer Maggot and his wife would also work but I feel that would take us down a much longer rabbit hole in terms of having to include the trip to Crickhollow.

Imrahil - I'm honestly a fan of Dol Amroth as an RPer for human characters so seeing more of ANYTHING of that portion of Gondor would have been fantastic also the visual wealth it would have given to my RPing characters lol it would very much round out more of Gondor.

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I'd have added thirty three characters.... Elladan, Elrohir, Halbarad, and the thirty Dunedain Rangers that rode south with them. They could have easily been included in the elven army that shows up at Helms Deep. Since only one could be added, it would be Halbarad.

Loved Viggo's answer of Ghân-buri-Ghân. It was a story fragment in the books, but important to the story. Understandable that it was not included. I would love to see the Aragorn-Arwen scene he mentions!
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Ghân-buri-Ghân is a great one, adds some more ambiance and mystery to Middle-earth without interfering too much. I would have loved to see Tom Bombadil for similar reasons but I understand why he was omitted.

Beregond and Bergil could be interesting, I also liked @KingODuckingham suggestion of Quickbeam, adding another dimension to the ents so that they don't all seem like Treebeard.

Honestly, though, I'd rather they "fix" some of the characters they did include, namely Faramir and Denethor.

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Romeran wrote: Fri Jan 28, 2022 4:29 pm Honestly, though, I'd rather they "fix" some of the characters they did include, namely Faramir and Denethor.
Indeed. I'm not sure if our paths of activity overlapped long on the Old Plaza, but am I right in recalling you were the one who started the fascinating thread defending Faramir's character and how horribly Peter Jackson dismantled it?

It's a shame too, because I like David Wenham and think John Noble is a fine actor as well (brilliant in the tv series Fringe), but I can't get around to accepting their portrayal in the movies. I get the argument that Jackson and co. didn't want to reduce the importance of Aragorn as the "Return of the King," but the cost was two intriguing characters who deserved better treatment.
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Boromir88 wrote: Sat Jan 29, 2022 3:13 am Indeed. I'm not sure if our paths of activity overlapped long on the Old Plaza, but am I right in recalling you were the one who started the fascinating thread defending Faramir's character and how horribly Peter Jackson dismantled it?

It's a shame too, because I like David Wenham and think John Noble is a fine actor as well (brilliant in the tv series Fringe), but I can't get around to accepting their portrayal in the movies. I get the argument that Jackson and co. didn't want to reduce the importance of Aragorn as the "Return of the King," but the cost was two intriguing characters who deserved better treatment.
Yes that was me. I also got to rule as Denethor briefly lol.

I think the actors are great, it’s not their fault the writing of their characters was bad. They are very multi-dimensional, interesting, characters in the book and they get the one dimensional trope treatment in the movies. I generally do enjoy the movies, I watch them fairy often, but Faramir was my favorite character in the book and they really butchered him imo.

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