Unexpected PartyIn expanding on Professor Tolkien’s text in his film adaptation, director Peter Jackson allows us to follow Gandalf the Grey into areas that remain secret to us within the text of The Hobbit. As we look forward seeing these events unfold before our eyes next month, this essay by Tedoras examines Gandalf’s journey into the dark fortress of Dol Guldur, what he found there, and the impact that this event had on the fate of Middle-earth. Continue reading “On the Finding of Thror’s Map and the Key to the Lonely Mountain”

If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.

Bilbo and Smaug A new day, a new TV spot for The Desolation of Smaug. This one features some previously unseen footage of Bilbo making his way down into the depths of Erebor towards the lair of Smaug. Appropriately, Warner Bros. have titled it Dragon.

Movie spoilers, of course!

Thanks to Ringers Xpayne, Sander and Huan for the heads-up. Continue reading “The Desolation of Smaug TV Spot #9 “Dragon” is here!”

smaug tv spotAnother night, another Desolation of Smaug TV Spot! This latest sneak peek offers a closer glimpse at Bilbo and the dragon Smaug – as well as a new shot of Gandalf and previously unseen battle footage. The video is up on Warner Brother’s YouTube page in HD, and we’ve got it available for your viewing right Continue reading “The Desolation of Smaug TV Spot #7 is up!”

Smaug Destroys Lake-town by John Howe.
Smaug Destroys Lake-town by John Howe.

A lot of folks have — in the wake of the trailers for The Desolation of Smaug — been pondering the question about the number of legs our favourite big, bad beastie might possess in the estimation of Peter Jackson (and his conceptual artists Alan Lee and John Howe).

Four? Two? It seems to be a bit unclear.

Here, Ringer Arandir examines the evidence (he does say that it’s not movie spoilery, but I think it is a little bit, so here’s your warning) and posits that we may be seeing a mid-stream change in Smaug’s conceptual design. Continue reading “Dragons vs wyverns: the question of Smaug”

If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.