15 Wild Lord of the Rings Ideas Tolkien Abandoned

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1. Bilbo Was Supposed to Kill Smaug Himself

Bard the Bowman was not always destined to claim Middle-earth’s most famous dragon kill. An early Hobbit outline sent Bilbo into Smaug’s chamber with a spear, while a later plan had him bury Sting so deeply in the dragon that the sword disappeared. The strangest version ended with Bilbo sitting inside a golden bowl and escaping on a torrent of Smaug’s blood. Tolkien ultimately gave the killing blow to Bard, preserving Bilbo as a hero powered by nerve and intelligence rather than improbable combat skills. | © New Line Cinema

Lord of the Rings 2001 black Rider in the shire

2. The First Black Rider Scene Originally Featured Gandalf

The roadside encounter that introduced the Black Riders began as a harmless reunion with an old friend. Tolkien initially placed Gandalf beneath the mysterious hood, riding a white horse and surprising the traveling Hobbits before revealing himself with a laugh. He soon darkened the horse, clothing, and entire mood of the scene, transforming the stranger into one of Sauron’s terrifying servants. Gandalf was never literally conceived as a Ringwraith; a familiar entrance was rewritten until it belonged to an entirely different character—and fantasy gained one of its creepiest villains. | © New Line Cinema

3. Fatty Bolger’s Predecessor Was Used as Bait for the Nazgûl

Gandalf’s early plan for misleading the Nazgûl was considerably less considerate toward Hobbit safety. Across several evolving drafts, Odo or Hamilcar Bolger—the character whose remnants eventually became Fatty Bolger—served as a false Baggins while the true Ring-bearer traveled elsewhere. The Black Riders carried the decoy away, only for Gandalf to knock down his captor and rescue him under circumstances Tolkien never completely developed. Final-version Fatty was sensibly left at Crickhollow, where merely seeing the Nazgûl approach proved traumatic enough without adding an involuntary ride to Rivendell. | © New Line Cinema

4. Aragorn Began as a Hobbit With Wooden Feet

King Elessar came alarmingly close to entering Minas Tirith with much noisier footwear. The mysterious ranger at the Prancing Pony was initially Trotter, a weathered Hobbit named Peregrin Boffin who wore wooden shoes and had apparently endured imprisonment in Mordor. Tolkien considered revealing that Sauron’s torture had damaged his feet—or that the wooden feet were actual prosthetics. Trotter eventually became a Man descended from Elendil, gaining Aragorn’s royal heritage while retaining the secrecy, wilderness knowledge, and quietly commanding presence that made his much shorter predecessor so intriguing. | © New Line Cinema

5. Glorfindel Almost Joined the Fellowship Instead of Legolas

Legolas had not yet booked his place on the quest when Tolkien assembled an early version of the Fellowship. Glorfindel occupied the Elven position, while a Dwarf called Durin, son of Balin, stood where Gimli would eventually appear; Boromir was not part of that lineup at all. Tolkien later created the more familiar company, leaving Glorfindel behind in Rivendell after his rescue of Frodo. The popular claim that he was excluded because he was simply “too powerful” makes perfect fan logic, but Tolkien never documented that as his reason for replacing him. | © New Line Cinema

6. Time Literally Stopped in Lothlórien

Lothlórien nearly came equipped with a cosmic pause button. Tolkien initially intended the Fellowship to rest inside Galadriel’s realm without any time passing beyond its borders, allowing them to recover while the outside world remained frozen at the moment they entered. In the finished story, an entire month passes, although the travelers struggle to understand how long they have been there. The revision kept the unsettling dream logic of Elven time without forcing the War of the Ring to wait politely for everyone to finish eating lembas and admiring the trees. | © New Line Cinema

7. Treebeard Was an Evil Giant Who Captured Gandalf

Treebeard entered Tolkien’s drafts looking less like a patient shepherd of trees and more like the giant waiting at the top of a fairy-tale beanstalk. Before Saruman became responsible for Gandalf’s disappearance, the wizard claimed he had spent “many weary days” as Treebeard’s prisoner in Fangorn. Another outline sent Frodo into the giant’s enormous garden, where Treebeard pretended to help him while secretly serving the Enemy. Tolkien gradually turned this treacherous giant into a decent one and finally into the Ent readers know, redirecting his talent for destruction toward Isengard instead. | © New Line Cinema

8. Gandalf Almost Escaped Moria Wearing Mithril Armor

Gandalf’s first planned escape from Moria played more like an armored victory lap than a spiritual resurrection. After overcoming the Balrog, he would discover that the chasm beneath the bridge was relatively shallow, follow its waters into the depths, obtain a suit of mithril mail, and fight his way outside while killing numerous trolls. No fatal plunge, no return as Gandalf the White—just a wizard emerging from underground with upgraded equipment and an impressive body count. Tolkien traded that muscular adventure for sacrifice, death, and rebirth, giving the Balrog confrontation far greater weight in the finished novel. | © New Line Cinema

9. Boromir Was Going to Betray Gondor for Saruman

Boromir’s corruption almost continued well beyond his attack on Frodo at Amon Hen. Early outlines allowed him to reach Minas Tirith alongside Aragorn, only to become furious when the city chose the returning heir of Isildur as its leader. Driven by jealousy and ambition, Boromir deserted Gondor and sought Saruman’s help in claiming its lordship for himself. Tolkien briefly wondered whether he might repent, then considered having Aragorn kill him instead. The published death gives Boromir something much stronger: a final act of courage that redeems him without pretending the Ring did no damage. | © New Line Cinema

10. Aragorn Was Supposed to Marry Éowyn

Arwen arrived surprisingly late to claim one of fantasy’s grandest romances. A straightforward planning note once paired Aragorn with Éowyn, making her Queen of Gondor after his coronation. Tolkien then tested a much crueler outcome in which Éowyn died while saving or avenging Théoden, leaving an equally devoted Aragorn unwilling to marry anyone after her. Introducing Arwen untangled both characters’ futures: Aragorn received a love story tied to Middle-earth’s ancient history, while Éowyn survived her pursuit of death and found a life with Faramir that she genuinely chose. | © New Line Cinema

11. The Nazgûl Almost Became—or Rode—Demonic Eagles

Tolkien’s notoriously difficult handwriting leaves this abandoned idea with two equally strange interpretations. One outline appears to transform the Black Riders themselves into demonic eagles; another possible reading gives them eagle-like vulture creatures as flying steeds. Either concept provided an early route from horseback pursuit to airborne terror, although Tolkien eventually settled on the nameless, pterodactyl-like beasts seen in the finished story. Keeping the Nazgûl separate from their mounts was probably the cleaner decision—and spared the Great Eagles several uncomfortable questions about their extended family. | © New Line Cinema

12. The Witch-king Was a Fallen Wizard Who Reached Mount Doom

The Witch-king once carried a résumé that made him an even more personal enemy for Gandalf. As the “Wizard King,” he was described in one manuscript as a former member of Gandalf’s own order who had fallen into evil. Separate plans allowed him to survive the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and appear near the story’s final confrontations, including an encounter at Mount Doom where Sam stabbed him from behind or Frodo drove him into the fire. These ideas belonged to different draft stages, not one completed alternate storyline, before Tolkien firmly made him a corrupted mortal king. | © New Line Cinema

13. The Spider at Cirith Ungol Was Originally Called Ungoliant

Shelob had not yet received her familiar name or genealogy when Tolkien first drafted the horror waiting above Minas Morgul. Gollum instead referred to the creature as Ungoliant, promising that the monstrous spider would deal with Frodo while he handled Sam. That wording does not conclusively mean the ancient devourer of the Two Trees had personally relocated beside Mordor; Tolkien occasionally reused names while characters were still taking shape. Making Shelob Ungoliant’s last surviving daughter preserved the terrifying connection while keeping Frodo from accidentally wandering into a confrontation with a First Age cosmic nightmare. | © New Line Cinema

14. Sam Was Going to Push Gollum Into Mount Doom

The destruction of the One Ring went through several endings before Tolkien found the beautifully messy accident readers know. One outline had Sam arrive while Gollum celebrated, then deliberately push him into the Crack of Doom; another possibility sent Sam tumbling after him. Tolkien also proposed making Gollum “repent in a way,” although his leap into the fire still came from refusing to let anyone else possess the Ring rather than sudden sainthood. Gollum’s final accidental fall proved richer, allowing Frodo’s mercy, Gollum’s broken oath, and a touch of providence to finish the job together. | © New Line Cinema

15. Frodo Almost Killed Sharkey in Single Combat

Frodo’s commitment to mercy nearly suffered a startling last-minute collapse during the Scouring of the Shire. In the first draft, Sharkey was not Saruman but a separate ruffian chief who mocked the returning Hobbits and challenged their courage. Frodo removed his cloak, drew Sting, slipped beneath his much larger opponent’s attack, and killed him with an upward thrust. Tolkien later discovered that Sharkey was Saruman, transferred the killing blow to Wormtongue, and allowed Frodo to reject revenge. That revision completed his transformation far more convincingly than one final miniature boss battle ever could. | © New Line Cinema