The New Lord Of The Rings Movies Are Ignoring One Of The Most Exciting Stories In All Of Tolkien

There's a lot of Middle-earth media coming out right now. "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" has jumped back several thousand years to fill in some critical ring-making lore. In 2027, Andy Serkis' "The Hunt for Gollum" will dive into the story after "The Hobbit," and now Stephen Colbert's upcoming Tolkien sequel "The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past" will also fill in gaps in the original "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. These are all fun stories to adapt, but I think the powers that be at Warner Bros. and/or Amazon are ignoring one of the most exciting stories in all of J.R.R. Tolkien's work: The Angmar War.

What is the Angmar War? Technically, Tolkien doesn't use that term. It's a collective reference to one of the small but important series of events in the author's lore that helps set up a lot of the things we see in "The Lord of the Rings." We're not talking about something like "The Rings of Power," which goes way back to the Second Age of Middle-earth. This one is in the middle of the Third Age (the same one as the "Lord of the Rings" story), roughly 1,600 years before Frodo and company set out for Mordor. The war takes place in northwestern Middle-earth when the Witch-king (yes, the same dude we see in the War of the Ring) invades the area, which is controlled by three kingdoms of Men called Arthedain, Cardolan, and Rhudaur. The war lasts for several hundred years as armies of Men, the nearby Elves of Rivendell, and even a handful of Hobbits from the Shire fight a running war against the leader of the Ringwraiths and his Orc soldiers.

The Angmar War might sound like a random point in Tolkien's timeline, but it's actually really important. It also has plenty of easy connect-the-dot moments with more well-known Tolkien stories. For instance, the war is fought (and results in widespread destruction) in the region that includes Bree, the Shire, and Rivendell.

The actual fighting is dramatic, too. The Witch-king defeats his enemies early and often and even besieges Rivendell at one point. At the end of the war, both sides summon all of their forces and have a knock-down, drag-out fight. Everyone shows up, including some Hobbits. Elves also arrive from Rivendell led by the epic Elvish hero Glorfindel. This is where things get fun: When things go south for the Witch-king, he runs away, and the human leader Earnur goes to chase him down, but Glorfindel prophetically says:

"Do not pursue him! He will not return to this land. Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man will he fall."

Sound familiar? This is the line that sets up Éowyn's "I am no man" duel with the Black Rider in "The Return of the King." The Angmar War also leads to the destruction of the Human kingdoms in the north. This is why Aragorn is born and raised a Ranger in the wilderness, rather than the king of a thriving realm. I like this connecting point because it's the perfect Aragorn origin story that doesn't actually need Viggo Mortensen to reprise the role. (Which, hey, I got excited when it seemed like Mortensen could return for "The Hunt for Gollum," but as of this writing, I'm pretty sure he won't be back).

There are a few things I've always thought made the Agmar War low-hanging fruit for an adaptation. First off, it's a single story. This was one of the most attractive things about the 2024 anime "The War of the Rohirrim," which /Film's lead Tolkien mind Jeremy Mathai expertly described as a "dazzling but inessential prequel." I completely agree. The movie wasn't necessary, but it was fun to watch. One of the things that made it easier to enjoy was that it was a complete story on its own. Unlike the "Hunt for Gollum" and "Shadow of the Past" movies, it didn't need to fit into the context of "The Lord of the Rings." Unlike "The Rings of Power," the story was contained and not over-complicated. The Angmar conflict could be its own story, too, while casually connecting to the existing story we already know and love.

The other factor here is that war sells. If someone makes a movie about the Agnmar invasion led by the Witch-king, we're going to get tons of great duels and epic charges — the high fantasy drama that makes Tolkien's work so memorable. In contrast, "Shadow of the Past" is going to follow Hobbits, which might work, but don't expect too many fireworks (unless Gandalf is firing them off in the Shire). "The Hunt for Gollum" should have action, but it's being billed as a movie that will explore Gollum's psychology. Again, maybe it works, but it's a risky departure from the proven script. An adaptation of the Angmar War would be splashy, action-packed, and full of nostalgic connections — all within a story that stands on its own. Can someone get on adapting this one, please?