Question: In the theatrical trailer, we see a scene of Eomer grieving for a dead person, presumably during or after the battle for Minas Tirith. This scene is not in the theatrical version of the movie. Will it be in the extended version? And who is the dead person? Theoden (Eomer's uncle)? Or some other fallen warrior that Eomer was very fond of? Thanks.
Question: When the rings were forged, nine were given to the Kings of Man and they became the Ringwraiths. How is it that the three elves had no trouble, as they are all there and smiling in the Grey Havens scene? Also, what happened to the dwarfen rings?
Answer: When the Rings were created, the elves became aware of the creation of the One Ring, and removed their rings. Only when the One Ring was removed from the hand of Sauron were even those rings safe to use. It should be pointed out that the elven rings were crafted by the elven smiths themselves for their own purposes and did not have the same corrupting influence by default as the Seven and the Nine. While their rings were subject to the power of the One Ring, the elven ringbearers remained untouched by his power, tapping into the powers of their rings only sparingly to maintain their realms and only while the One Ring remained lost to Sauron (as it was for the entire time since the last war, up to and including the time of LotR). As for the dwarves, they also proved to be too hardy for Sauron to dominate and the rings merely increased their innate desire for gold. Sauron ultimately reclaimed three of the dwarven rings, which were presumably lost in the fall of Barad-dur, with the other four being consumed by dragons.
Question: This applies to all three movies. Why didn't they just release the Extended Versions in the theatre as opposed to releasing what was released in the theatre? Some things would have made a lot more sense (i.e. the breaking of the Evanstar in the theatrical release makes more sense in the Extended Version), and they are far truer to the books.
Answer: Longer films aren't as marketable or profitable as shorter ones. Studios have the final word on how long a movie is, often overriding the director's artistic intention. A movie's running time is determined by a number of factors including how long it's believed an audience is willing to sit through it, and the maximum number of showings possible per day in a theater. The more showings, the more tickets sold. With LotR, each movie was already quite long, and it's doubtful theater audiences would have been willing to sit through an even longer version. Also, with epic films like LotR, it is typical for the theatrical version to be released on DVD first. Much later, the "extended" version is offered, basically repackaging and reselling the movie to the same audience who bought the first DVD, further increasing the profits.
Question: Does Legolas marry after the battle ends, and where were his kin throughout the battle? Does Gimli marry, and where were the other Dwarfs?
Answer: Sauron's assault on Middle-Earth took place on many fronts; it wasn't limited to the assault on Minas Tirith. The elven kingdom of Lorien came under attack, as did the dwarven realm of Erebor; the elves and dwarves were busy fighting their own battles. Tolkien never mentions whether Gimli or Legolas later marry, although both settled with their kin after the fall of Sauron, Legolas in Ithilien and Gimli in the Glittering Caves of Helm's Deep, so both had the opportunity to have done so before sailing into the West together after Aragorn's death in the year 120 of the Fourth Age.
Answer: Gimli is simply the only one in the fellowship. The dwarves at Moria were slaughtered, but that was only a colonizing group sent out from the dwarves at the Lonely Mountain to reclaim Moria after it had been abandoned. Gimli, after all, was only one of the three dwarves that was sent to Rivendell for Elrond's council, so we have visual proof of two more, but there is a thriving society still out there. Elrond even mentions that they only care for their mining, with no mention that they are all dead.
Question: This is for ALL THREE movies, how many of Arwen's scenes actually happen in the books?
Answer: Practically none of them. Arwen appears in about two scenes in the Fellowship of the Ring and is mentioned in a third - she has no dialogue at all. She is never mentioned in The Two Towers. She shows up at the end of the Return of the King to marry Aragorn. She then has one scene (the only one where she says anything), where she tells Frodo that he would be allowed to go in the West if he so desires and also gives him the jewel that, in the film, she gives to Aragorn. When the filmmakers said that they beefed her role up a bit, they really weren't kidding. One of the appendices to the book does contain a section called "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen", which goes into those parts of their relationship that occur both before and after the events of the main storyline. For obvious reasons, she shows up in that rather a lot.
Question: In the Extended Edition of "The Two Towers," it obvious that Denethor has a liking of his now-deceased older son Boromir and a disliking of his younger son Faramir. This is more evident when Denethor boldly said to Faramir in the throne room that he wished that Faramir and Boromir had switched places so that the former dies and the latter live. Is there a reason in the original novel why Denethor has an unfavorable opinion towards Faramir, his younger son?
Chosen answer: No, no really. Denethor's wife, Finduilas died early, and the grief turned him into a grim and humourless man - one suggestion is that Faramir takes heavily after his mother, and Denethor dislikes him for that reminder; another suggestion is that it's actually Boromir who takes after the mother, and that Denethor favours him for that reason. Whatever the issue is, it seems likely that it started early on - Boromir translates to "Faithful Jewel", whereas Faramir seems to translate to something like "Adequate Jewel". As even their names appear to reflect the prejudice against Faramir, whatever the problem is, it goes back a long way. Maybe, once Boromir was born, giving Denethor an heir, he really wanted a daughter and was disappointed by the arrival of another son. Compounded by the death of his beloved wife (making a daughter impossible), that disappointment could easily grow into the dislike that he shows in the film. There's also the point that, although unseen in the film (unless the Extended Cut touches on it), Denethor has been using a palantir, which has allowed Sauron to affect his mind - it's not unreasonable to think that Sauron could have determined that Faramir was actually the stronger-willed of the brothers, and had deliberately influenced Denethor's mind against him to hamper the younger man's efforts against Mordor.
Question: Can anyone tell me why some of the subtitles change font, such as during one of Legolas' lines while the Rohirrim are being gathered?
Answer: It is in one font when they are just speaking (those are the ones you can turn on and off) and a different, fancier font when they are speaking Elvish.
Question: As with the other two films, did Viggo Mortensen have to grow in his facial hair? To me, it looked just full enough to be natural.
Answer: It is Viggo's own facial hair that appears in all three films.
Question: At the end of ROTK, when Frodo is at his desk writing in the book and Sam walks up, and says "You've finished it?" and Frodo looks at Sam knowingly, and says "there's room for a little more..." Is this a hint from the director that there is going to be more related films of some sort to these Lord of the Rings movies?
Question: I understand that Faramir and Aragorn are both Rangers, but what is a Ranger as depicted in the "Rings" trilogy?
Chosen answer: Not as simple a question as it sounds, as, while Faramir and Aragorn are both described as Rangers, they're actually different types of Ranger. Faramir is one of the Rangers of Ithilien, a Gondorian group who specialise in using guerrilla tactics against the forces of Sauron in the land of Ithilien, between the Anduin river (which runs through Osgiliath) and the Mountains of Shadow that form the western border of Mordor. Aragorn is the current chieftain of the Rangers of the North, who came into being after the fall of the northern kingdom of Arthedain, ruled over by Isildur's descendants. After the loss of Arthedain, the people survived in the wild as the loose-knit organisation known as the Rangers. The two groups are related - both originate from the Dunedain, the long-lived descendants of the survivors of Numenor - but have been seperated for around 3000 years.
Question: Could someone please tell me what happened to all the remaining members of the fellowship after the film ends?
Answer: Aragorn rules until 210 FA, then passes away, leaving the kingdom to his son, Eldarion. Sam becomes Mayor of the Shire, seven times, and has thirteen children with Rose. After her death in 61 FA, he leaves the Shire and takes a ship into the West to be reunited with Frodo - allowed to do so because he too was a Ringbearer. Merry and Pippin become the heads of their respective families. In old age, they leave the Shire together and travel back to Rohan, then on to Gondor. They live out the remainder of their lives there and are buried in the tomb that will eventually house Aragorn's body as well. Legolas settles in Ithilien with other elves from his realm. After Aragorn's death, Legolas builds a ship and sails into the West. Gimli sets up a dwarven colony in the caves behind Helm's Deep. He stays in close contact with Aragorn and Legolas. After the death of the former, he accompanies Legolas in the West, the only dwarf ever to be allowed to do so. Precisely why he's allowed is unclear - it's most likely to do with his unprecedented friendship with Legolas, but another theory is that Galadriel remembered his pure love for her and obtained permission for him.
Question: I have heard many people say this film had over 10 endings in the theater. What is this supposed to mean? For me, 10 endings means that the ending changes each time; like the ending in Clue, where each new one means the others didn't happen in that strain. In ROTK, there are several scenes after the climax of the trilogy happens at Mount Doom. Is the 10 ending note just supposed to mean there is a long epilogue?
Answer: Basically, yes. The point is that there is a scene which finishes dramatically and you think 'ah, this is the end' but then there is another scene which also finishes dramatically and you think 'oh, this is the end' but, no, there is yet another scene. When people are saying it has 10 endings they mean that the filmmakers could have ended the film much sooner than they did. They are over exaggerating when they say 10 endings, because they are just trying to make the point.
Question: It's established that the Elves are leaving Middle Earth to go across the sea, into the West. What/where exactly are they going? Is it to another continent that's just across the sea that maybe only Elves know how to get to, or to some otherworldly place?
Answer: They're going to a place called Valinor (which means "home of the vala". The Vala are sort of manifestations of some of the gods) - it is a real continent that is across the sea. There is, however, magic at work because only the elven boats can get there.
Question: If all the Elves were leaving Middle Earth, does that mean that Legolas was leaving also? Was this addressed in the book?
Question: Gandalf would not give the ring to a powerful character for safekeeping, because the character was apt to forget to protect it or misplace it. The character was supposed to so powerful even Gandalf was leery of him. What was that character's name, please?
Answer: Tom Bombadil, who is not named because he's not in the films.
Question: The events of the trilogy take place during the end of the third age of Middle-Earth, but how long does an 'age' actually last?
Answer: It varies, as the ages are marked by significant events, rather than lasting any specific time period. The First Age, which began with the return of the elves to Middle-Earth and the awakening of man and finished with the defeat and banishment of Melkor (a.k.a. Morgoth), the first Dark Lord, lasted 583 years. The Second Age carries on from that point until the defeat of Sauron by the forces of the Last Alliance, as seen in the prologue to the films - this age lasted 3441 years. The Third Age, which runs up to the events of the War of the Ring and ends with the departure of the Ringbearers into the West, lasted 3021 years.
Answer: This scene found its way into the extended edition of Return of the King. The scene shows Eomer discovering his sister Eowyn on the battlefield, presumably grievously wounded.