Originally, Peter Jackson envisioned a fight between Aragorn and Sauron in “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”. A scene was also shot before being changed in depth, above all for scriptwriting reasons.
The king’s return : the final fight
After the defeat of the forces of Saruman (Christopher Lee) at Helm’s Deep, the final efforts remain to be made to hope to triumph over Sauron and the power of the Ring in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. As Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) draw dangerously close to Mount Doom, still guided by the ominous Gollum (Andy Serkis), Gandalf (Ian McKellen) rushes to Minas Tirith to ring the bell. alert after a frightening sight of Pippin (Billy Boyd).
A huge battle is brewing. To counter the forces of Mordor, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) venture down the road to Dimholt, under the Haunted Mountain, in the hope of gaining the help of the Army. deaths.
Raising more than $ 1.140 billion in revenue, The king’s return imposes itself as the biggest success of the trilogy at the worldwide box office when it was released in 2003. The epic conclusion also triumphed at the Oscars, where it won eleven statuettes, including Best Film and Best Director.
Isildur’s heir confronts the Dark Lord
In this final section around the community of the Ring, Aragorn takes his rightful place. The King of Gondor ascends to the throne and Andúril, the sword of Elendil with which Isildur defeated Sauron, is reforged. Like his ancestor, Aragorn was also supposed to face the Dark Lord with this blade in The king’s return. In the making-of below (from 8’47), Peter Jackson explains that he considered that Sauron takes another form than that of the eye scrutinizing Middle-earth in the feature film. During the final assault on the Gate of Mordor, he was to appear as an “angelic presence,” according to Viggo Mortensen.
According to the filmmaker, it was Annatar, the representation of Sauron in his angelic form, which he notably takes to fool the Elves during the creation of the Ring. After dazzling the King of Gondor, Gandalf, Legolas and their allies, he was to regain his original appearance, visible in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and rush to Aragorn.
For Sam and Frodo
A confrontation which does not appear in the work of JRR Tolkien and which required three days of filming. But this fight is ultimately not visible on screen, at least not in its initial conception. Peter Jackson as well as his co-writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens gave up on the idea, believing it could undermine the climax of the narrative.
The goal of this last battle is first and foremost to take Sauron’s gaze away from Mount Doom, where Frodo and Sam are supposed to destroy the Ring. Not knowing if they are still alive, Aragorn still tries to save time for them. Peter Jackson says on this subject:
Aragorn’s heroism lies in his way of putting his own life and the lives of his troops on the line in the vague hope that this may somehow give Frodo and Sam a little opportunity to help them. to accomplish their mission.
The real emotional climax indeed concerns Sam and especially Frodo who, due to exhaustion, the trap set by Gollum and the power of seduction of the Ring, risks making the same mistake as Isildur when he finally touches the goal. In order not to distract spectators from this issue, Sauron was replaced in post-production by a troll during the battle at the Gate of Mordor.
