The Tolkien fan site TheOneRing.net recently reported on Twitter that the eventual Amazon-acquired Lord of the Rings-based television series “will open its first season centered on a young Aragorn.” It cites this information as coming “from many sources” but offers none of them, which to me means this isn’t exactly absolute. But nothing has popped up to contradict and any chance to discuss the matter is fun, so…
Let’s roll with this. I’ve speculated on a few possibilities before, but with young Aragorn as the protagonist of at least the first season, we can sharpen our focus, take a look at what we know about Aragorn’s upbringing, and home in on some prospective plotlines.
Now I won’t even talk about what actor(s) should play the legendary ranger and future returning king, because I’m in the seemingly smallish camp of those who prefer a nigh-unknown actor to a well-established face from some other franchise (please God, no Marvel folks), but will instead highlight what sort of adventures such a season could depict. For now let’s throw caution to the wind and assume, crazily, that they’ll at least base it in canon from J.R.R. Tolkien’s work. I think it’s fine to fill in the gaps—you really have to—but I’d rather they not change the lore that’s already in place.
Mostly we’re looking at the Appendices found in the back of The Return of the King, and especially part I: The Númenorean Kings. We know that Aragorn is the last heir of Isildur, who took the One Ring from Sauron close to three thousand years before his birth, but when we meet Aragorn in Fellowship he’s just Strider, a ranger of whom the Men of Bree seem wary, and then we find out he’s the chieftain of a group called the Dúnedain. So which is it: chief or king?
Problem is, there’s no kingdom anymore. About a thousand years before Aragorn’s birth, one of his ancestors (Arvendui) was the last king of a realm known as Arthedain, itself a fragment of the kingdom of Arnor, which was a sort of brother kingdom to Gondor. They were all connected once, but then the Witch-king of Angmar, Lord of the Nazgûl—remember that jerk?—played a big role in the fragmenting that followed. So the fading line of kings took to a wandering lifestyle, adopting the role of chieftains instead of kings. That’s what Aragorn was born into.
For the first twenty years of his life, he is known as Estel, a name his mother, Gilraen the Fair, gave him and which in the Sindarin (Elven) language means “hope.” When he was two years old, his father was slain by orcs, his grandfather having already been killed by trolls. Yeah, there are serious occupational hazards to being a ranger and chieftain of the Dúnedain.
So…back to the Amazon series thing.
Any seasons or episodes involving the early years of Aragorn can begin at any point from here. He was raised in Rivendell, lived with his mom, and had Elrond as a guardian and surrogate father. It would be cool to get at least a glimpse of him as a child, playing among Elves, care-free and unburdened by the weight of his ancestry. But then he grows fast, and alongside Elrond’s actual sons, the twins Elladan and Elrohir, Estel did “great deeds” (safe to assume that included hunting some orc). He’s not even informed of his true lineage and name until he’s twenty, at which point Elrond lays it all on him at once, gives him the shards of Narsil (the sword that Isildur used to cut the One Ring from Sauron) as well as a token of his family’s kinship with Elves from long before (the Ring of Barahir!). And then it’s the very next day that he meets Arwen, and things get even more momentous and heavily weighted with meaning. Any treatment of these important moments could be wonderful to watch.
Once Elrond finds out that Aragorn really digs his daughter, and that Arwen’s heart has turned toward him, things get…well, spiritually complex. Elrond loves Aragorn like his own son, but the prospect of losing Arwen to the doom of mortals (meaning total separation after death) is heavy. But no decisions are made yet, just considered, dreaded, anticipated.
And then Aragorn sets out on his solo adventures, and I have to think that no matter what Amazon does with the above, they’ll have to address these. As he says goodbye to his mother, to Elrond, and to Arwen, he sets out to make the world a better place for “nearly thirty years.” A long time for a mortal Man, but remember, they’re a long-lived race, these Dúnedain. So what does he do?
He meets and befriends Gandalf! Talk about a life-altering partnership. Together they share “many perilous journeys” and he learns much Wisdom.
Under the alias of Thorongil (“Eagle of the Star”), he joins up with the horsemen of Rohan, serving King Thengel. That’s Théoden’s dad! He tells no one who he really is.
He then goes to Gondor, becomes a captain in its army, and even becomes a counselor to its current Steward, Ecthelion II, Denethor’s dad!). In fact, Denethor is the only one in Gondor who doesn’t like this Thorongil fellow. We’re talking about twenty years before the birth of Boromir, at this point. Denethor is a young man.
And in one matter only were their counsels to the Steward at variance: Thorongil often warned Ecthelion not to put trust in Saruman the White in Isengard, but to welcome rather Gandalf the Grey.
It’s even suggested that Denethor “had discovered who this stranger Thorongil in truth was, and suspected that he and Mithrandir designed to supplant him.” Which of course is a bit off the mark, but there’s plenty of drama to be had, here.
Okay, then there’s this. After we read how Aragorn helped Gondor against the pirate-like Corsairs on the coast, we also get this bit from Appendix A:
and then in the hour of victory he passed out of the knowledge of Men of the West, and went alone far into the East and deep into the South, exploring the hearts of Men, both evil and good, and uncovering the plots and devices of the servants of Sauron.
And I’m going to stop right there and say: what an opportunity! If ever there was a time to explore the cultures and trials of the East and the South of Middle-earth, where Sauron holds the most sway but not absolutely, it is here, with Aragorn. We’re talking about the Easterlings and the Haradrim, the descendants of the “Swarthy Men” mentioned in The Silmarillion, and right here in Appendix A we’re again told that among them are people “both evil and good.” I so desperately would love to meet some of them, especially the latter.
Aragorn needn’t be some “white savior” or anything. Remember, he’s in exile, in disguise. Let’s see him participate in the resistance, to help—as we’re told in the book—uncover plots and devices of the Dark Lord. Let’s see him save some people, and be saved in turn. Let’s see what friendships, hardships, and knowledge can be learned in the further corners of Middle-earth! If any Man of the West and North would be open-minded about foreign cultures, it would be Aragorn, who spent years in the company of Gandalf—himself an ancient Maia who learned firsthand wisdom and mercy from the Valar and even contributed to creation itself in the Music of the Ainur.
Aragorn isn’t going to single-handedly save Far Harad or Rhûn or anything ridiculous like that. Even during the War of the Ring he requires the valor of many to win the day (and in the end, of course, true victory is achieved by hobbits). The East and South are enemy-occupied territories for the most part, but not entirely. Sauron doesn’t have everyone under his power.
So…there are so many stories that can be explored around Aragorn. In the end, the focus should be about the characters and finding the right actors; they’ll give it life. Gandalf, Arwen, and Elrond are just the tip of the massive iceberg of possibilities. But the one topic I would love to see most is Aragorn’s relationship with Gilraen, his mother. While his father is never in the picture, his mother absolutely is, even though he does eventually lose her, too (perhaps mirroring Tolkien’s own life a little bit).
We so rarely get to see motherhood in Tolkien’s legendarium. After his thirty years of adventures, Aragorn returns to Gilraen in Rivendell. The Appendix even brings us a scene at what is essentially her deathbed at the age of 100! By this point, he’s come into his own and been a hero many times over (though he still has the War of the Ring ahead), and he’s nominally betrothed to Arwen (but has yet to achieve the “great doom” and goal of kingship laid on him by Elrond). He’s taken on various names, but he’s still Estel to his mother. Still her baby boy.
“This is our last parting, Estel, my son. I am aged by care, even as one of lesser Men; and now that it draws near I cannot face the darkness of our time that gathers upon Middle-earth. I shall leave it soon.”
‘Aragorn tried to comfort her, saying: “Yet there may be a light beyond the darkness; and if so, I would have you see it and be glad.”
‘But she answered only with this linnod:
Ónen i-Estel Edain, ú-chebin estel anim,
Which in Elvish means, “I gave Hope to the Dúnedain, I have kept no hope for myself.”
What do you think? What, if Aragorn is indeed where Amazon’s bold venture begins, what would you want to see?
Jeff LaSala, the nerd behind The Silmarillion Primer series, can’t leave Middle-earth well enough alone and. Tolkien geekdom aside, Jeff wrote a Scribe Award–nominated D&D novel, produced some cyberpunk stories, and now works for Tor. He is sometimes on Twitter.
I have a really bad feeling about this. My gut instinct says they will butcher this…
It depends how far down the “this is because of Game of Thrones” hole the producers/Amazon decide they need to go. If they want to strike the not quite family friendly tone, they might borrow heavily from the aesthetic and qualities of the LOTR films. Not for parents with little kids, but perfect for nailing the teenager demo and dragging their parents in too (The Walking Dead squicks my parents right out, but they love Fear the Walking Dead). The more they bend towards GoT, the more violence and sex are going to be added. That’s not a bad thing, but that’s going to drive some people away before its even out. Flipside of the coin, the Shadow games have some pretty spectacular violence in the setting, so there’s an audience for it.
I’ll admit to being interested in the Harad/Rhun/Khand stuff, primarily because of the Games Workshop take on the designs from the movies looked so good.
Oh. Disappointed. I was so looking forward to seeing the fall of Gondolin and the drowning of numenor. Instead we get Aragorn pining (for the fjords). Sad.
It has long been speculated that the Errantry of Aragorn would be a prime story axis for any “in between” stories told in tLotR universe. I can’t say I hold out much hope for this Amazon presentation though. There’s just so little to go on, I can’t see them really doing it well.
Also, I believe Aragorn was only called ‘Estel’ after his father died and he was fostered in Rivendell to better protect his identity from the servants of Sauron.
I can’t tell you how disappointed I am to not be getting the full Silmarillion. Still, this has potential. But yes, this sounds incredibly easy to screw up. Hollywood messes things up often enough, I am generally hesitant about them adapting my favorite books at all.
I think the most interesting thing to see will be Aragorn realize that no matter how many victories over the forces of Sauron he gains, that ultimate victory can’t be achieved by him.
We’d see him turn more to the counsel of Gandalf who is keeping an eye on a certain Hobbit. And wouldn’t it be nice to have an accomplished warrior/tracker/tactician near the Shire and Bree just in case that ring turns out to be super important.
Just as we saw Aragorn shed the mantle of the Ranger to become the Leader/Warrior that was needed in LotR, we could see him hide the Leader/Warrior and put on the Ranger here.
@1: Maybe, maybe not. For this, I’ll just quote myself in a previous post:
@2: It’s precisely the GoT style choices that would doom the project to storytelling ruin. So one can only hope. Hopefully it’s the better aspects of that show—the production skill, the acting, the budgets—that they’ll take pages from.
@3: Nah, until we hear otherwise it sure sounds like they’re avoiding Silmarillion stuff. And probably don’t have the rights anyway.
@@.-@: Right. I’m keeping things as brief here as I can. Estel was given to Aragorn only when they went to Rivendell when he was age 2, and even when his real name comes back, his mom still uses Estel. Which I really, really love. Hope.
@6: Totally. Aragorn is the quintessential hero, but to use a sports analogy (which I shouldn’t do, nothing so little about it), he’s more like the guy who sets up the final shot. He rallies the people and draws the Lidless Eye to himself.
“Still not king.”
I reserve the right to change my mind, but TBH when I heard “Young Aragorn” my interest dropped quite a bit — just seems too close to the films, and will inevitably be constrained thereby.
As I think about it, my preference would probably be something closer to the old Iron Crown Middle-Earth Role Playing setting — sometime in the Third Age maybe a thousand years before the War of the Ring — maybe even something around the fall of Arthedain? That seems like it’d give plenty of scope for adventure and some fairly major, world-shaking events.
But they didn’t ask me; so my one request is to not go too far down the Lucas prequel rabbit hole where we discover that, e.g., Aragorn already knew Treebeard from back in his young days.
Hoping we get at least a couple episodes in Moria, though.
“The Enemy has tried to set traps for me before now”
– Strider/ LOTR
His family crest is not a stylised “S” inside a diamond is it?
I hope they go for a more upbeat adventure series with minimal serialisation, more Hercules the Incredible Journey than Game of Rapeychairs or The Boring Dead. But not so vacuous as it becomes The Shanara Chronicles.
I do second and third your call for it to be an unknown, no Marvel or Whedon show actors. Please. Don’t let it be overshadowed by some other show’s insane fanbase, let Tolkien’s own fanbase do its own crazy thing.
I am actually excited by this! Yes, it could be awful, but I’ll have moderate expectations that it could be good!
The other risk with a prequel story is the Enterprise problem – it’ll be hard to resist having him encounter things out of the books even if it’s clear that they were new to LOTR in The Lord of the Rings, just like Enterprise having Borg, cloaking devices, etc. An obvious example is Moria – will they be able to resist the temptation of doing a visit to the Mines of Moria, maybe around the time that sinister evil things are happening, even though it seems clear that the books were his first visit?
I, too, would rather not see much retreading, or prequel-ish temptations observed, BUT…if something’s in the books, I don’t see why not venture there, even if only briefly? Aragorn had been through Moria before. In Fellowship, it’s his second visit. First Gandalf says so, then Aragorn:
What’s interesting here is that they each went through separately—Gandalf would have done so WAY before Aragorn, 80+ years before. Certainly long before Aragorn was even born. But WHY had Aragorn gone through Moria before (and clearly never came out the west gate)?
Jeff: Just a word in your ear…I think the idiom is “home in on” (like a certain type of pigeon can do) not “hone in on” (which would indicate a knife-sharpening experience)/?
@15 Yes, of course. That word came from an edit made to the post. I’ve corrected it.
There’s also the hunt for Gollum: “If a man must needs walk in sight of the Black Gate, or tread hte deadly flowers of Morgul Vale, then perils he will have..” (Council of Elrond) there’s lots of stuff they could flesh out.
I also want unknowns, please, and no GoT rapeystuff. After all, he’s true to Arwen.
I’ve done a lot of fanfic on Aragorn and the Rangers. Lots of meat there. Can’t say I feel a lot of faith in Amazon’s ability to explore it.
Brainstorming here….
Young Aragorn learns his true heritage. Recklessly, and in defiance of Elrond, he sets out to find his lost kin, and to take vengeance against the trolls and orcs that slew his forefathers. Arwen pursues him to convince him to return to Rivendell. Elladan and Elrohir pursue her. But when they catch up with Aragorn, he persuades them to join him. Episodes of harrowing adventures ensue, perhaps involving rallying rival tribes or petty kingdoms of Dunlanders to unite against an imminent orcish invasion from the Misty Mountains. Tumultuous romance between Aragorn and Arwen. Mithrandir advents and broadens the scope of the series.
Season 1 perhaps ends with Aragorn (temporarily estranged from Arwen?) striking off on his own to the faraway lands of the south and east. Subsequent seasons detail his adventures in Rohan, Gondor, Umbar, Harad, Khand, wherever…Develop these latter places on the loose model of ancient and medieval Asian and African civilizations. Aragorn, with Mithrandir, contrives to mediate a grand alliance of all mankind against the resurging Dark Lord, and is resented for these efforts
y Denethor and others in Gondor who revile the Southrons and Easterlings as inferior savages and barbarians. (Obviously there’s chauvinism in Tolkien’s own conception of these “others” but a series would provide an opportunity to deconstruct it, in a hopefully not-too-heavyhanded manner… Ultimately Aragorn’s grand project goes unrealized, which embitters him and has disastrous consequences upon the outbreak of the War of the Ring.)
What else?
Retrained cameos by characters such as Galadriel, Saruman , Legolas, Gollum, and Bilbo Baggins. Recurring flashbacks to Aragorn’s youth in Rivendell: tender exchanges with Gilraen, sage advice from Elrond, learning swordsmanship from Glorfindel–that sort of thing.
No strong opinions on casting, though I guess I’d prefer talented unknowns. I wouldn’t want a ” series to present itself as a prequel to the Peter Jackson trilogies, but rather to be very much its own thing. I’d like to see it have the scope and production values of Games of Thrones, though without quite so grim a tone…. But much (MUCH) closer to GoT than to, say, Battle of the 5 Armies, or the Shannara Chronicles.
I note that Aragorn would have been a young Estel (9 or 10) in Rivendell when a certain party of dwarves (and one hobbit and one wizard) arrived. Aragorn also became friends with Bilbo sometime after Bilbo settled in Rivendell (which happened when Aragorn was about 70).
It would be interesting to know how Aragorn handled becoming hereditary chieftain of the northern Dunedain. He had been raised separately from them after age 2 and hadn’t known his position until he turned 20. He might have known some adult Dunedain visiting Rivendell (as well as his mother) but probably not any his own age. How were the Dunedain ruled when Aragorn wasn’t around (appointed regent, loose democracy, council of elders)? When did he meet his kinsman, Halbarad; is Halbarad older or younger or the same age?
@20 — Yes, that’s a good & interesting point — All of Aragorn’s wanderings would have taken place after the events of The Hobbit. And if they go by the timeline of the books, Bilbo & Frodo’s joint birthday party (and the passing of the Ring, and Gandalf’s research, and the hunt for Gollum) would’ve still taken place a good few years before the four Hobbits left the Shire.
If doing Aragorn, get Eagles and Beorn in there. Capture of Gollum either on the Stairs of Kirith Ungol, or at the height of the pass, where Aragorn is able to look down into Mordor, wondering whether to add it to his “journeys of errantry” before turning back with Gollum.
@5 Zenbossanova,
Both are reasons to begin with an Aragorn prequel, thus at least arousing interest (and viewers) with a both charismatic and familiar role, providing us with some nice sets in different locations in Middle-Earth while the directors and actors learn how to do this kind of thing.
Then when the producers have made friends and connections and learned how to find and attract talent – especially talented unknowns – then they can go on to try adapting Beren and Luthien and the Tale of Turin Turambar.
10,000+ years of history and literally an entire world to play in and we have to go back to the same sandbox? This is why star trek and star wars have grown so stale, just the same people and places over and over again. It’s lazy story telling and demeaning to think that I would only care about something if it focuses on someone I already know.
Well the good news is that there is plenty of material there for the series to work with. generic enough to not have too many toes to step on.
I can see each season dwelling on a chapter of his life pre LotR. an episode to a season before he is told his birthright. A season with Rohan, a season in Gondor, a Season or 2 in the south. You can easily find arcs to work with within these constraints and once one set becomes slightly worn you can move on to the next.
IT is also understandable why you choose Aragorn as the first series. He is a known quantity and a much easier sell to a broader audience. Would I like another time frame and other characters we haven’t seen on screen before, sure. but i understand the buisness of the decision.
As with all series, writing, casting, budget, location, and how close/different from the movies will all play into how successful, it will be.
Then again, I suppose we should be happy we’re not getting Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor the series.
@26 hoopmanjh,
– MiiddleEarth: Shadow of Mordor: The Series –
No, that’s the title of a new Japanese series. Just ignore that one.
I see a lot of people complaining that we’re not getting the Silmarillion, but seriously, are the adaptation rights to that book even available?
After all, as far as I know, Amazon has only been able to buy the rights to The Lord of the Rings.
I don’t want the Silmarillion in this series. As has been pointed out in LaSala’s posts about that work, it doesn’t contain a lot of detail. Events that could easily have LOTR size books written about them are covered in a few pages in the Silmarillion. I’m holding out hope for large scale films about things like the fall of Gondolin, the story of Turin, Beren and Luthien and the downfall of Numenor.
I think it’ll be fine to take the bones of Aragorns pre-LOTR life and flesh them out from (nearly) scratch. The hands it gets put into will make all the difference.
@17 Elaine T
You speak for me also!
I was under the impression that the Silmarillion wasn’t even an option for adapting, due to the rights.
So that said, I agree there are some interesting things here – my first thought was seeing him undercover in Rohan but I totally forgot that he did missions in the East. I would definitely want to see that (as well as get some more development/redemption for those cultures).
Have they said if they are purposefully going to be in the ‘movie’ universe? I know there are various things that the movies have done that have conflicted the books. Or is this going to be totally unrelated?
I agree with 25 about how this would work best. But I would like a season to focus on his time in the North as a ranger. I believe somewhere it says he has also been in the region formerly known as Arnor. The set pieces of the ruins of the former glory of his people there could be eye popping
I’ll go with hope that it will be good. The potential is there, for all the reasons Jeff laid out.
Lots of people being employed to entertain readers like myself.
A chance to flesh out a story JRR Tolkien didn’t have the lives to do himself.
If Estel means hope I hope we can hope Amazon does the story justice.
What’s not to like about that. Amazon treat your worker well please.
Other than that three things I’d be excited to see are…
1. Aragorn’s friendship with Legolas.
2. The treatment of magic within the show.
3. The group of writers and directors that are tasked to bring the appendix content to light. A panel at ComicCon seems to be in the future for this show and that is truly were we fans will be able to glimpse the mind of those at Amazon.
@31 Lista:
I don’t think that’s been addressed. But my guess is they won’t want to be constrained by Jackson’s version of Middle-earth (which I like but of course it’s far from 100% Tolkien). They’ll already benefit from the broader recognition of the story thanks to Jackson. But I have to think it would be generally a good thing not to be part of that universe, freeing up casting choices for when they do choose to include a character we’ve seen before, like Gandalf. That’s such a tall order to do right, but the same could be said for the whole shebang.
Not being part of Jackson’s universe also frees this story to actually match up with Tolkien’s timeline. I sure hope so. Wherein Aragon is still Estel, a 10-year-old boy in Rivendell when Bilbo and the dwarves pass through on the quest for Erebor. Which, now that I think about it is, is interesting. Aragorn doesn’t meet Gandalf until 15 years after that—so either Aragorn wasn’t in Rivendell on those particular days, or Rivendell is just bigger than we think and being nearby but never greeting one another isn’t considered “meeting.”
It’s my understanding that the Silmarillion is still hands-off for movies/tv, the Tolkien estate has held it close to the heart since they (Christopher) hates all the media representations of his father’s work. Tolkien himself hated the fact that he had to sell rights to the Hobbit and LotR to feed his family. This leaves only the things in the Appendices, or that can be inferred without directly referencing the Silmarillion.
I would have loved to see them do the rise and fall of Numenor, that could have given them years of stories.
I think the reason people keep wondering about The Silmarillion is precisely because Christopher Tolkien stepped down from the Tolkien Estate; and right away the Amazon deal was announced. The suspicion being that this would not have happened if he was still calling the shots. So now anything’s possible, for good or ill.
I just can’t get interested in this. Somehow it’s one thing to read a great Aragorn fanfic written by an author who loves Tolkien and is deeply, deeply immersed in his writing and worldview. . .and just not the same thing to see a filmed version of what is, for all intents and purposes, a fanfic. Maybe just the act of putting it in dramatic form takes away some of the what-if, provisional, sandbox-y nature of fanfic and pins it down into something too close to alternate canon for my comfort level.
Would have been onboard for Fall of Numenor, where there’s enough content to create an adaptation of Tolkien’s story. Just not excited about this unless reviews change my mind once it’s released.
I believe there actually are fanfilms of Aragorn’s youth. I can state with certainty that fan writers have more respect for the material than any production company.
@39, that’s a good point. Fan films can be excellent. But still have that sheen of “fan” rather than “official” that makes a difference to my enjoyment.
The difference in production values are getting smaller and smaller all the time thanks to computers.
First – if when watching the series and it even gives a hint of taking the GOT sex-ish route, I’m done. Tolkien didn’t need it to sell a story nor create amazing narratives, and anything that truly wants to be based off of or pay homage to his work shouldn’t need it either.
It is a great opportunity to flesh out the hints and allusions and items spoken of by Aragorn throughout LOTR and what’s in the appendices. There’s plenty of material there for that.
However, I’m leary of anything at this point. The whole Hobbit thing put a bad taste in my mouth. I actually got my rankin-bass animated versions out the other day just to try and offset the misinformation offered in the recent, unecessary trilogy of films.
I don’t think it will be to the degree of Disney with Star Wars (yet) – but Amazon will take the rights they have and adapt or create new media that will probably get more and more mediocre as it multiplies.
Jeff, can you provide any additional detail from what might be licensed on what his youth was like – who trained him etc? If there isn’t anything, I’d love to see them fill the blanks in Rivendell with showing his mother teaching him the way of Men and the locals teaching him the way of Elves. How becoming the best of both helped keep him alive and helped prepare him to both resist the Ring and be a fair king of Gondor.
If they do cover Aragorn going to the East, and they have the rights, they could make up some stories around what happened to the other two Maia that came to Middle-Earth with Saruman, Gandalf, and Radagast: the Blue Wizards. It’s possible that Aragorn could be one of the few Men who met all five of the Wizards.
@42: I hear you. That’s my greatest fear, as well. Which is why I choose, for now, to remain optimistic.
That said, I’m a bit of an apologist of the Hobbit films; they are films, I do not expect them to match the book or even straight-up translate them into the film medium. But anyway, it’s funny you mention the Rankin/Bass Hobbit, which I adore. That was my intro to Tolkien as a kid, but that version also make tons of changes to the story—so I wouldn’t say that offsets anything but tone, when it comes to plot and exposition.
But to get back on track…
@43: So little is known about what’s licensed. It sounds like they have, at minimum, everything in The Lord of the Rings, and that means the Appendices, which I think is all that’s ever really detailed about Aragorn. Who trained him? The people of Rivendell. Elves of Elronds’ house, not to mention other Dúnedain at some point.
@44: I get the temptation, and I can even imagine doing that, but Aragorn meeting the Blue Wizards feels a bit too much like fan service—like seeing Yoda know young Chewbacca in the prequel Star Wars movies. It doesn’t feel quite right. The East is big. And the Blue Wizards, if they’re on track, should be anything but conspicuous. Then again, while very little is said about the Blue Wizards, what is said is not in TLotR. Not even the Appendices. They’re mostly talked about in Unfinished Tales. The Appendices only names three of the Istari (Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast) and says there were five. And that’s it.
@45 “Aragorn meeting the Blue Wizards feels a bit too much like fan service…” But what if he was looking for them? And had some clue–via Mithrandir, eagles, whatever–of their whereabouts?
It would be interesting if Aragorn encountered the Blue Wizards during his wanderings in the East.
The only worrying aspect of the Amazon series is the reports that Peter Jackson will be involved. He really messed up Aragorn in the movies and if he does the same in the series, many fans will not watch.
Hmm. I’m thinking less GoT, more “The Young Indiana Jones Aragorn Chronicles”.
@47 how come he messed up Aragorn in your opinion?
I really like film Aragorn, even though there absolutely are some changes from book Aragorn. The films gave moviegoers (many of whom will never read the book) a man a character arc that’s not quite so strong in the book; Aragorn has more doubts of what he can become. Book Aragorn is far more confident, rarely doubts himself, and seems to have fewer flaws. You can relate to him, but not as easily as the one in the film. But both versions you can look up to in a way that is hard to find in other fantasy shows and films. I appreciate that.
I just can’t be a purist about this. Films and books are not the same. I wouldn’t change a thing about book Aragorn, but I also like his arc in the movies, even though I’d definitely change a few of the plot choices (I’d rather see Narsil be reforged before the Fellowship leaves Rivendell, etc.).
Bom. Ba. Dil.
Just tagging on to the discussion earlier about whether this will inhabit the same universe as Peter Jackson’s films, I’m quite happy for Amazon to make a relatively clean break here. I really don’t want to see a retread, but at the same time it’s great there is already a built-in familiarity with the material and how “the world works”. Ditto as above for the GOT-style sexing up – totally the wrong character for Tolkien.
One thing I really hope they avoid is giving Orlando Bloom another tilt at Legolas. I’m hoping that if/when Legolas turns up to hang out with Lil’ Aragorn, the treatment is closer in spirit to the books than what we saw in the films. And a brand new actor is a must.
On another note, I wouldn’t mind seeing Craig Parker reprise (“prepise”?) his role as Haldir.
As a writer of Tolkien-based fanfiction I’ve done my own take on Aragorn’s return to the Dunedain, and it’s been well enough received. I do have to finish the epilogue and my author’s notes, of course. It can be found on FanFiction.net , on StoriesOfArda.com , and other venues under the title of “Enter the Ranger.” A variety of authors have experimented with how he might have returned to his own people, and I’ve tried a different tack from the more common idea that he was readily recognized and accepted, apprenticing as it were under the guidance of his grandparents or purported uncle(s) to learn the ways of the heirs to the ancient descendants of Numenor.
As per my Diqus moniker, I look forward impatiently to the projected Amazon series on the earlier life of Aragorn (Estel/Thorongil). I believe that there is sufficient material in the LOTR appendices on which to base a season’s worth of TV production while staying basically true to the Tolkien vision. To be sure, there will be variations based on cinematic or storyline considerations – just as there were in the Jackson film trilogy of LOTR. There may even be an attempt to make Aragorn conform more with the film version than with the original. That would be fine with me. I found that I could empathize more with the film version. The only fault had with the latter was the rushed ending to the Aragorn kingship and the Aragorn – Arwen story. I was also disappointed in the lack of depiction or even expression of the earlier relationship of Aragorn/Estel to his surrogate father, Elrond. But, that may well have been due to licensing considerations rather than mere time constraints in the films.
In any case, the Amazon production must compete with the elaborate production of the Game of Thrones series. The latter set the standard of what a TV production could achieve in terms of set design and computer graphics. I hope that it will be in the same league, but much more like Tolkien in matters of language and sex than the latter.
Aragornfan
What stories could an Amazon Aragorn series tell? Bad ones I very much fear.
IF they would use all available material from books and appendices for this then this could turn out well and good, but more cynical part of me makes me think that they will try to cheaply connect it to ‘movie universe’ even though there’s not such thing and already Hobbit films (and Shadow of game series) did the biggest lore butchering so far, (in the games they even screwed up basic chronology of events :)) and Hobbit films did awful last tie in, with Elvenking Thranduil telling Legolas go find man in the wild known as Strider, even though going by book timeline he was 10 years old and would not be known yet by that name :), so this could easily turn into boring Legolas and Aragorn buddy show…ughh, going by books at this time Aragorn would not even know Legolas personally (at the very least they might have caught a glimpse of each other when Aragorn dumped Gollum at Elvenking’s dungeons and even that’s uncertain, by the way hunt for Gollum is a nice material, but it would be chronologically the last great adventure before Fellowship proper, also as seen in quotes Aragorn was wandering near Morannon and in Morgul Vale ‘threading deadly white flowers of morgul’, but the actual capture happened near Dead Marshes, so another familar location with sorcery involved, it’s mesmerizing/hypnotizing ‘corpse-candles’).
If they would start even before Aragorn’s birth, going along with the appendix Tale of Arwen and Aragorn, then we could see grandpa Arador gruesomely killed by Trolls, Arathorn and Gilraen courtship and finally Arathorn’s death from orc-arrow when in company of Elladan and Elrohir (“And it happened that when Arathorn and Gilraen had been married only one year, Arador was taken by hill-trolls in the Coldfells north of Rivendell and was slain; and Arathorn became Chieftain of the Dúnedain. The next year Gilraen bore him a son, and he was called Aragorn. But Aragorn was only two years old when Arathorn went riding against the Orcs with the sons of Elrond, and he was slain by an orc-arrow that pierced his eye; and so he proved indeed short-lived for one of his race, being but sixty years old when he fell.”), her parents Dirhael and Ivorwen (and Ivorwen had some premonitions while Dirhael was at first against quick marriage since Gilraen was deemed too young), we could glimpse the daily life of Dunedain and their Rangers of the North, and their hidden settlements throughout the wilds of Eriador. We could see more of the Rangers organization and leadership, the Dunedain houses and activities shrouded in mystery, in words of Aragorn himself:
“Aragorn smiled at him; then he turned to Boromir again. `For my part I forgive your doubt,’ he said. ‘Little do I resemble the figures of Elendil and Isildur as they stand carven in their majesty in the halls of Denethor. I am but the heir of Isildur, not Isildur himself. I have had a hard life and a long; and the leagues that lie between here and Gondor are a small part in the count of my journeys. I have crossed many mountains and many rivers, and trodden many plains, even into the far countries of Rhûn and Harad where the stars are strange.
‘But my home, such as I have, is in the North. For here the heirs of Valandil have ever dwelt in long line unbroken from father unto son for many generations. Our days have darkened, and we have dwindled; but ever the Sword has passed to a new keeper. And this I will say to you, Boromir, ere I end. Lonely men are we, Rangers of the wild, hunters–but hunters ever of the servants of the Enemy; for they are found in many places, not in Mordor only.
`If Gondor, Boromir, has been a stalwart tower, we have played another part. Many evil things there are that your strong walls and bright swords do not stay. You know little of the lands beyond your bounds. Peace and freedom, do you say? The North would have known them little but for us. Fear would have destroyed them. But when dark things come from the houseless hills, or creep from sunless woods, they fly from us. What roads would any dare to tread, what safety would there be in quiet lands, or in the homes of simple men at night, if the Dúnedain were asleep, or were all gone into the grave?
`And yet less thanks have we than you. Travellers scowl at us, and countrymen give us scornful names. “Strider” I am to one fat man who lives within a day’s march of foes that would freeze his heart or lay his little town in ruin, if he were not guarded ceaselessly. Yet we would not have it otherwise. If simple folk are free from care and fear, simple they will be, and we must be secret to keep them so. That has been the task of my kindred, while the years have lengthened and the grass has grown.”
Foes that would freeze heart and turn town into ruin? Dark things coming from houseless hills? Well they could invent some new monsters and dark creatures, after all evne Tolkien gave constant reminders that outside of catalogued Orcs, Trolls, Wargs, werewolves, (bat-like vampires? :)), dragons, giant spiders, Barrow-wights, evil spirits, evil tree demon entities, other ‘undead’ like lesser wraiths, there were countless of unknown unnamed creatures and “monsters of diverse kinds” bred by Dark Lords, be it Morgoth or Sauron himself, also the flying fell beasts, Watcher in the Water, ‘nameless things’ gnawing the world, the “black horse if horse it was for it was huge and hideous, and its face was a frightful mask, more like a skull than a living head, and in the sockets of its eyes and in its nostrils there burned a flame” (hellish horse hehe I always wondered what sort of ‘Nightmare’ it was hehe), and there were lots of monsters in the shadows that we don’t know of:
“There are strange things living in the pools and lakes in the hearts of mountains: fish whose fathers swam in, goodness only knows how many years ago, and never swam out again, while their eyes grew bigger and bigger and bigger from trying to see in the blackness; also there are other things more slimy than fish. Even in the tunnels and caves the goblins have made for themselves there are other things living unbeknown to them that have sneaked in from outside to lie up in the dark. Some of these caves, too, go back in their beginnings to ages before the goblins, who only widened them and joined them up with passages, and the original owners are still there in odd comers, slinking and nosing about.”
Aragorn also knew of Tom Bombadil, so maybe a standalone adventure in Old Forest episode? Whacky ride with Tom, and strange creatures in the forest and demonic Old Man Willow, maybe some dangerous adventure with Barrow-wights and Aragorn stopping evil plot of a Barrow-wight lord to bring about apocalypse of spell casting zombies on Middle-earth :) :) :). Alright that was a joke but hell it sounds cool, besides Barrow-wights really have their own magic “dreadful spells of the Barrow-wights of which the whispered tales spoke”; :). Of course if the alterations to existing lore (or they will invent completely new stuff not suitable for setting) will prove too much it may descent into worst fanfic possible. Naturally some things would be added, characters, dialogues, plot points and all that, elaborating more on adventures journeys and things he did but there’s so much in canon already, we could have even more female characters to stop the critics whining, we could see young Finduilas and Denethor, we could see childTheoden and his sisters, including Theodwyn (whom he loved very much), maybe even childElfhild, future wife of Theoden (Theoden was about 9 when Aragorn arrived in Rohan to serve in Thengel’s armies as Thorongil?), also we could see king Thengel’s queen, Morwen Steelsheen, gondorian noblewoman of Lossarnach, we could see as mentioned Aragorn’s maternal grandma and mother, we could even see canon characters like Halbarad, sons of Elrond would get their chance on spotlight, Arwen would have more screen time, Galadriel and Celeborn as well (and maybe a flashback or two of Celebrian). In general we could see lots of Gondor, much more than glimpses in the movies and much more lively, all the cities and settlements and towns and mountain villages, grand palaces of Dol Amroth and the line of it’s prines, Prince Adrahil and his children (including Finduilas and Imrahil), we could see for the first time great port city of Pelargir, the Venice of Middle-earth (Tolkien himself compared the two) and for the first time a might port city of Umbar and we could see great sea battles of gondorian ships and Corsairs, we could see Aragorn captaining a ship!! He served in the navy as well :) and last but not least the great raid on Umbar, a full scale surprise attack on Umbar when Aragorn commanding a small fleet comes in burns down the corsair fleet at anchor and wages great battle on the quays personally overthrowing Captain of the Haven. Lots of potential…and lots of ways it could go horribly wrong.
Whe there’s no indication in tbe books that Aragorn and Legolas know each other there’s no reason why they couldn’t have met and become friends.
Young Aragorn stories sound awesome. He was my favorite character in the LOTR… well, it was tied between Legolas and Aragorn. But these stories sound almost like the wonderful fanfiction series called The Mellon Chronicles written by Cassia and Siobhan. They are incredibly well-written, and if you enjoyed the Aragorn/Legolas friendship in the books and movies, you’ll love the The Mellon Chronicles. They used to have their own website, but it shut down as the stories were concluded years ago. But they can still be found at fanlore.org/wiki/The_Mellon_Chronicles and archiveofourown.org/series/61841/. So if you do like young Aragorn stories, here’s professional quality ones for free. Enjoy!