Summary
While there’s a lot ofLord of the Ringscontent coming from multiple sources, fans of the franchise can see one iconic item from the highly celebrated Lord of the Rings trilogy in an upcoming project that might surprise some.
TheLord of the Ringsfranchise is the Dragonball of the fantasy genre, with the originalLord of the Ringstrilogy of books and other related works by the venerable J.R.R. Tolkien earning worldwide acclaim from literary critics and fans alike. This prestige would make its way to the mainstream when film director Peter Jackson adapted the mainlineLord of the Ringsbook into an equally well-acclaimed trilogy of films, followed almost a decade later by another trilogy adaptingThe Hobbit.In addition to directing, Jackson would also write and produce all six films in the trilogy, cementing himself as a legendary filmmaker, withthe only notable criticism of his LOTR adaptations coming from Tolkien’s son Christopher. The franchise’s praise was equally directed at the cast, all of whom put on sterling performances.
One of the most notable members of that ensemble is Viggo Mortensen, who played Aragorn in theLord of the Ringstrilogy and shone in the role that is now synonymous with him. Now, a recent move by the actor has taken this a step further. In an interview withGQconcerning his independent westernThe Dead Don’t Hurt,a passion project that Mortensen wrote, directed, produced, and starred in, theLord of the Ringsstar revealed that he had brought a small piece of Middle Earth into the wild west in the form of Anduril, the iconic sword Aragorn wielded in the films that represented the lineage of the Kings of Gondor. The actual sword seen in the original trilogy,a gift Jackson gave to the actor at the end of filming his LOTR trilogy, makes an appearance in a fantasy scene withinThe Dead Don’t Hurt.The move is one that Mortensen says came about as an accident but with full endorsement from Jackson himself.
We had everything for this sequence with a knight. We had found this great, spirited horse, the right kind of saddle, and we made a medieval kind of blanket, and we had the costume for the knight. Everything was right, and then I said, well, we should have a sword. And I did look and there were some good ones and I thought, well, it might be kind of good to use this one that I had because it’s really good. But I knew I would have to ask permission because I’m sure somebody would notice it, even if you only see it for a few seconds, it’s not really essential to the scene and certainly not to the movie, it’s just something in passing that you either see or you don’t.
So I did ask Peter Jackson if he’d be all right with it, and he said, “Well, is it very important in the story?” I said, no, it’s not, actually. You hardly notice it, but somebody will, probably. He said it was okay with him but that I should ask the movie company. So I contacted them and they were fine with it. They realized it wasn’t essential, it wasn’t going to draw a lot of attention to itself. And they were very nice about it, and they gave us permission. That’s why we did it, just because it seemed right. It was kind of a last-minute accident.
The staying power of the prop from the original film is a testament to the powder keg of interest still waiting to be fully unleashed by the rightLord of the Ringsproject, and Warner Bros. seems to be ready to take up that offer. The company greenlit two new projects in collaboration with New Line, with Jackson and other franchise returnees set to oversee and produce the new films. The inclusion of Jackson, whowas ghosted by the producers ofLord of the Rings:The Rings of Powerduring the show’s initial production, has lent the project a large amount of legitimacy in the eyes of fans, and could be the difference between capturing the same magic he did on his original LOTR adaptations and the divisive experimentation seen in Amazon’s show.
All in all, this was a nice easter egg for fans, as the sword and its master have retained a shocking amount of popularity over the years, Aragorn is possibly the most prominent of thecharacters fans want to see inLord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,a prospect that Mortensen hasn’t said no to just yet. Whether or not the star joins in and fans get to see Anudril in its rightful franchise still remains to be seen.
TheLord of the Ringsfranchise is available to stream on Max and Amazon Prime Video.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is one of the most iconic names in entertainment. The franchise started with novels from J. R. R. Tolkien before being adapted onto the big screen by Peter Jackson in one of the most critically-acclaimed film trilogies of all time. There have also been numerous The Lord of the Rings video games of varying quality.
