The Lord of the Rings: Age of Fellowship
Everything is a ‘Cinematic Universe’ these days. Studios can’t get enough of them, they’re such an easy cash cow! It’s easy to be pessimistic about the creative practice of making a cinematic universe, but the phenomenon couldn’t have begun without storytellers deciding that THIS story needed to span multiple mediums and franchises.
That’s why I, a penniless writer, am engaging in the creation of my own ‘Cinematic Universes’ based on various sources. I have no reason to do this beyond being creative.
Today’s Cinematic New-niverse is one that’s been percolating in my mind for goddamn months:
The Lord of the Rings
This first ‘phase’ if that helps you understand what I’m going for is titled, ‘Age of Fellowship’, and follows the events of the Fellowship of the Ring up to Gandalf the White’s arrival in Rohan. The main reason for this is, apart from the battle of Fangorn Forest, almost all of the members of the Fellowship take a back seat role at this point, allowing the second ‘Age’ to follow other characters stuck in the middle of the war for Middle-Earth.
But, that’s for another day. Here’s the first Age of ‘The Lord of the Rings - Cinematic Universe’.
Fellowship of the Ring (Movie)
The Fellowship of the Ring movie plays out in much the same way as they do in the original book and movie. Frodo Baggins, gifted his uncles magic ring, discovers it is a source of great evil that must be destroyed. Assembling a group of heroes, Frodo sets out to take the ring to the one place the ring can be destroyed, the fires of Mordor where it was created.
Passing through several trials, and losing his oldest friend and mentor to a fight with an enormous Balrog, Frodo and the Fellowship go their separate ways, each on their own journey to find their place in the coming war.
Custodians of Middle-Earth (Audio)
After setting the Fellowship on their journey, Elrond is conflicted. Though it was the greed of men that resulted in the rings survival, he was there the day Isildur made that decision. Now, as the threat returns, Elrond faces the fact that his people must leave Mordor. All of them, his daughter included.
Arwen, however, is set on staying in Middle-Earth to be with the human man she has fallen in love with. The rightful King of Gondor and descendent of Isildur, Aragorn. As Elrond tries to convince his daughter to remain with her own kind, the Forest Elves similarly voice their desire to remain in Middle-Earth so long as one of their own, Legolas, is escorting the ring to Mordor.
Elrond knows his people must leave for Valinor, that the time of elves is ended. But can Middle-Earth survive without them?
Path of the Ring-Bearer (Season 01)
Frodo Baggins is taking the ring to Mordor on his own. Except he has acquired a faithful companion in Samwise Gamgee, and something else is following them. That something, after an incident where Frodo nearly loses the ring, reveals itself to be Gollum, the former owner of the ‘precious’ ring before Bilbo.
Despite Sam’s mistrust of the creature, Bilbo allows Gollum to join their quest. He knows the way to Mordor better than anyone in Middle-Earth. Besides, there is something tragic at the heart of Gollum that Frodo understands.
The route to Mordor is filled with danger, and with each narrow escape Sam becomes more suspicious of Gollum, who Frodo has come to call Smoegal, his name before the ring corrupted him. Frodo, however, seems to trust Smoegal implicitly, and instead becomes suspicious of Sam.
The quest to find the gates of Mordor hits its greatest threat when the trio are taken by Faramir and his band of heroes. By the skin of their teeth, Frodo manages to get Gollum (and Sam) safely away and back on track to their journeys end.
The series ends as finally, after many perilous trials, the trio arrive at the gates of Mordor. All of them, for different reasons, prepared to face whatever lies beyond the fiery gates.
Trials of the White Wizard (graphic novel)
Contrary to what the Fellowship believed when they saw Gandalf plummet into a bottomless pit with a mythical Balrog, the Wizard is not dead.
Not dead anymore.
After a vicious fight that exhausted his mortal body, Gandalf found himself looking for solace that his order will help the light find its way. Except. Saruman. Instead of finding peace, Gandalf finds himself reliving his journey to Gondor to uncover if Frodo’s trinket is actually the One Ring. He remembers Saruman’s betrayal, echoes of their oath ring in his mind… and he dies.
Only to wake.
After a journey through the cosmos, the planes of existence and consciousness, a journey to the edge of all that is known and all that is yet to be learned, Gandalf awoke. Changed. Gone are the tattered grey robes and hat of Gandalf the Grey. Staggering through an unfamiliar forest, forming a corporeal body as he moves, he finds all knowledge of Gandalf the Grey passing from memory to story. When he is fully formed, he stands tall as a new man. White hair. A White robe. A White Staff. Before him stand three men, familiar men, important men. They know him.
He introduces himself to the men. No longer Gandalf the Grey. He is Gandalf the White. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are stunned to see their formerly dead mentor. Gandalf knows only one goal now. The years of travelling as Gandalf the Grey have all led here, to this moment. He alone can restore the confidence of his order. To do so, he must travel to… Rohan?
On the journey to Rohan, Gandalf’s life comes back to him. Though he is physically formed, his mind is still knitting together. From his arrival to Middle-Earth to the forming of his strong bond with the halfling people of the Shire, Gandalf relives many of his trials, mistakes, and victories. Each one will prove important in the battles to come.
Chiefly, and most pressingly, is the evil of Saruman’s influence that resides in the halls of Rohan. Not yet at his full power, Gandal struggles to rid the Kingdom of Saruman’s influence. His victories sap him of all his power, but do result in his arrival at the doors to the palace of Rohan. He uses his staff for support, a familiar grey shawl over his back.
In a final confrontation with Saruman, through the vessel of Wormtongue, Gandalf ascends to his full power. His final trial passed, he cements himself as Gandalf the White.
