9 'Lord of the Rings' Characters Who Deserve Their Own Prequel Movie

J.R.R. Tolkien built a universe so dense that even background figures feel as if they lived entire lifetimes before the main story begins. When Peter Jackson brought Middle-earth to the big screen, the films became legendary: sweeping New Zealand landscapes, Howard Shore’s score, and a cast that seemed made for their roles.

Still, ensemble epics leave many characters tantalizingly unexplored, and several figures beg for deeper cinematic attention. Tom Bombadil is singular in Tolkien’s lore: a jolly, almost aggressively cheerful presence in the Old Forest who rescues the Hobbits, hosts them, and shows the One Ring has no hold over him.

Morgoth, originally Melkor, is the tragic architect of much of Middle-earth’s suffering—once the greatest of the Ainur, he fell into pride, corrupted the earliest Elves, and stole the Silmarils. The tale of Beren and Lúthien, which Tolkien treasured above all, pairs mortal and Elven lines in a story of love, impossible quests, sacrifice and a bittersweet ending.

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tolkien, middle-earth, peter jackson, tom bombadil, morgoth, melkor, beren, lúthien, silmarils, hobbits