Why You Can Trust CNET Inside the Fan-Powered Push for a Bigger Extended Edition of Lord of the Rings
Commentary: It's a golden age for Tolkien fans, and they're going to make the most of it by asking for something big.
- Author of Taking your Android Tablets to the Max
Of all the people who've seen The Lord of the Rings at least once in the last 20 years, many are likely aware there's a longer Extended Edition of the films. But even if you've seen that version of the films once or more, there's a good chance you aren't aware of just how many things Peter Jackson left out even in the longer films.
Hardcore Tolkien fans have learned over the last 20 years of a huge treasure trove of scenes from these films that have never been publicly released, and now an alliance of online personalities, podcasters and educators are organizing in the hopes of a Second Extended Edition being released with the 25th anniversary of the films.
Fans of The Lord of the Rings and its surrounding stories are enjoying the biggest moment they've had since the Peter Jackson films took over the world in 2001. There are new and old stories being told in spectacular formats, from Amazon's The Rings of Power and the upcoming animated War of the Rohirrim to an incredible new collection of tabletop games and massive Lego kits. The cast members have started attending fan conventions all over the world, especially the four Hobbits everyone loves so much, and the fashion trend known as cottagecore is frequently described as having "Hobbit" vibes.
The works of J.R.R. Tolkien have been a big part of pop culture for decades, but right now that fandom is seeing a brighter spotlight than usual.
Don Marshall, TikTok's "Obscure Lord of the Rings Facts Guy," dedicates a significant amount of every day to educating and entertaining Tolkien fans. A quick look through his channel reveals someone eager to make sure Tolkien's works are something everyone can enjoy, and his efforts to breathe positivity and inclusion into the Tolkien fandom resulted in many members of the original cast wearing matching shirts in support of the Rings of Power cast.
Marshall is very good at making everyone feel welcome while having fun, and he's assembled an impressive collection of people in an effort to get the attention of Warner Bros., the studio behind the films — a list that includes Signum University President and Tolkien scholar Corey Olsen, Alan Sisto of The Prancing Pony Podcast and Matt Graf of The Nerd of the Rings on YouTube.
"The goal is to get the attention of the folks at Warner Bros., Peter Jackson, the cast, anyone that has influence or the ability to show that we as Lord of the Rings fans want to see everything," Marshall said in a recent interview. "The Tolkien fandom is in such a cool place right now with Rings of Power having just come out and the announcement of the new Lord of the Rings movies. There's no better time to let Warner Bros. know we would absolutely buy a five-hour-long version of each movie or even a six-hour-long version of each movie. Is that a little bit extreme? Yes."
A still from Gimli's part in the Return of the King epilogue, which was removed even from the Extended Edition.
What, exactly, is missing from The Lord of the Rings Extended Editions? Tolkien fans have been assembling a list for years, from brief descriptions in interviews and commentary tracks to mentions from cast and crew who were there when it happened.
Some of these scenes are fairly minor but would be cool to see, like Gandalf spending more time with various Hobbits in the Shire before Bilbo's birthday or more time with the white horse Shadowfax. Others have a great deal more significance even if you're not the world's biggest Tolkien fan, like seeing a huge fight between Sauron and Elven High King Gil-galad at the beginning of the first film, which ends just as dark as you can imagine.
I asked some of the folks involved in trying to get this Second Extended Edition which scenes they would most like to see brought to a new release, and the answers honestly left me wanting them just as much. The answers came fast and furious.
"There was an Eowyn and Faramir wedding scene that got cut," Marshall said. "There was a kind of creepy sort of what-if scene where Frodo was going to turn in to Gollum. We know these extras exist, and I want to see all of it."
Said Sisto: "There's a part of the epilogue with Legolas and Gimli, where we see Gimli in the glittering caves. I don't know how far that epilogue goes, I would love if it went to the very, very end of the appendices, where it says Legolas and Gimli got on the last boat to Valinor."
Sisto added that he believes there's a long sequence where orcs ambush the Fellowship as they travel down the Anduin. But, he said, "I think my favorite thing would be the Faramir-Eowyn wedding. Faramir is my favorite character in the books and they kind of did him dirty in the second film. I'd like to see the wedding sort of redeem that."
While Graf echoes the call for many of the scenes above, he also hopes any potentially released scenes would go a little deeper. "I think one of the most fun things we could get would be additional behind the scenes content. The Appendices of the 6 Middle-earth films are, in my opinion, the greatest bonus features of all time. If there is more to see from the filming and production, it would be a wonderful treat for fans of the films."
The artwork planned for the Second Extended Edition merch.
The plan to raise attention is pretty straightforward. In addition to a lot of social media education about the things missing from the original Extended Edition, Marshall has a collection of merchandise available. The goal, as Marshall tells it, is to encourage fans to wear the shirts in places that might encourage conversation and help boost the visibility of this effort. The earnings from these efforts would go back into the effort to promote the Second Extended Edition, with plans that go up as high as buying a billboard somewhere that might get the attention of someone important.
If you've made it this far and feel like this effort has Snyder Cut vibes, you're not alone. In fact, Marshall and his crew are hoping to harvest the best parts of that effort to get an extended version of the Justice League movie and carefully edit the plan to remove the toxicity some DC fans introduced into the effort. Directly harassing individuals involved in these films has been actively discouraged by everyone planning this social push, and in general there are no plans to annoy anyone into meeting a set of demands. One of the many things the organizers of this effort agree on is that the way fans go about asking for this Second Extended Edition matters.
It's not just the heightened excitement around Tolkien's works that makes this project feel like a good idea. The truth is, the way we watch movies has changed quite a bit. In 2001, a 2 hour, 58 minute version of The Fellowship of the Ring was considered a little risky, and the idea of a 3 hour, 48 minute version of The Fellowship of the Ring in theaters was something only the most obsessed fans would go see. Many theaters were hesitant to take up space with the Extended Editions out of fear that not enough people would want to sit for that long without an intermission.
Today, with films like Avatar: The Way of Water coming in at 3 hours, 12 minutes and John Wick 4 coming in at 2 hours, 49 minutes, it's clear audiences are just fine with a longer film. And even if a Second Extended Edition doesn't get released in theaters, a more complete version of the films would be watched from home weekend after weekend.
Or, as Marshall suggested during our call, releasing even a handful of these missing scenes completely unedited would be more than enough to make Tolkien fans all around the world very happy.
Warner Bros. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.