Diehard fans of J.R.R. Tolkien have already been spreading the word that Shadow of the Past will be adapting parts of The Lord of the Rings novel that never made it onto the screen. What casual viewers may not know is that Colbert is adapting a chapter from Tolkien’s book that features some of the most frightening characters in Lord of the Rings lore.
In The Lord of the Rings Book One, Chapter 8, “Fog on the Barrow-downs”, the quartet of Hobbits (Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin) have been on a wild journey, getting lost in The Old Forest to avoid the Black Riders, and meeting Tom Bombadil, one of the mysterious nature entities of Middle-earth. After Bombadil sends them on their way, the Hobbits wander into the Barrow-downs, an area that was used as a burial ground for men of the First Age, which had been infested by the “Barrow-wights,” evil spirits that infested the corpses of the dead and re-animated them.
The Barrow-wights took over the Barrow-downs – something the ill-fated Hobbits probably should’ve been more aware of, since they wander into the foggy, haunted grounds and promptly get captured by the Barrow-wights. The creatures put the Hobbits under a spell, but Frodo (thanks to the One Ring’s influence) awakens from it in time to call on Tom Bombadil, who frees them and better arms them for their journey. The Hobbits escape to the town of Bree, where they meet the Ranger Strider, aka Aragorn.
The Barrow-wights made their screen debut in Season 2 of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings prequel series, The Rings of Power, when a party of Elves wandered into their territory.
Obviously, if you’ve seen Peter Jackson’s Fellowship of the Ring movie, you know that the early part of that film skips over virtually all of the storyline about the four Hobbits meeting up and having several strange or dangerous encounters before they ever meet Strider. The movie version needed to move at a faster clip to get to the actual formation of the Fellowship, which meant a much shorter window of screen time to introduce each character and get them all together in a group.
The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past offers a much better opportunity for “Fog of the Barrow-downs” to get its proper due in cinematic form. Since the story is about three of the Hobbits revisiting their journey (presumably in remembrance of their lost friend), it leaves an organic opening for an interquel story, where Sam, Pippin, and Merry discuss the part of the journey we didn’t get to see in Fellowship of the Ring. In fact, early rumors indicate that the flashback portions of the film will all be chances to visit portions of Tolkien’s book that were left out of the film. It’s a clever way to give The Lord of the Rings the fully “authentic” adaptation fans have always wanted.
Of course, some fans are split over whether this approach will work, or if we’re in for another experience like Peter Jackson’s (ill-conceived) Hobbit movies. We’ll find out when The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past is released in theaters. Let us know what you think about the film on the ComicBook Forum!
