James McAvoy Denies Bilbo Baggins Role
Published on: 13th June, 2008
James McAvoy Denies Bilbo Baggins Role | Related News
During a press release last night in London for his upcoming action movie “Wanted” James McAvoy told reporters:
“It’s not true by the way, it’s all internet rumoring and nothing else I’m afraid, Sorry.”
Well we kind of new that already Jimmy, its just that usually someone stamps out the rumor fairly quickly, unless there is something to the rumor of course.
It could just be that Del Toro and Co. haven’t asked him yet. When asked recently about the Bilbo/McAvoy rumor Del Toro said that no final decision would be made until around December and he hoped to announce who has the part as a Christmas present to Middle Earth fans.
In other news, ReelzChannel is reporting the date of October 19th 2009 has been set for a jury trial to decide if Christopher Tolkien has the right to prevent the making of the Hobbit movie because of money still owed to the Tolkien Trust from the LOTR movies.
He also hopes to prevent the use of The Silmarillion (which he put together) as the material source for the second Hobbit movie.
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i dont like christopher toolkien and his “Trust” I bet John Ronald Reul would have loved the lotr movies
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It would be a sad day indeed if Mr. Chrtistopher Tolkien succeeds in his quest to stop this proposed production. The Silmarillion holds the truest materials that could be used to produce a credible link between The Hobbit and The Followship of the Ring. Without it as a resource that could be used by the very talented Misters Jackson and Del Toro I can only envision more struggles with the Tolkien Trust.
Let us hope first of all that the outstanding financial wrangling can be settled out of court, and second that Mr. Tolkien will allow the work of his father and himself to be used to complete this wonderful project.
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It’s a bad idea to disrespect Christopher Tolkien, Isilidur. His father said that he knew, and read, the LOTR saga better than anyone else. That said, He’s a man from a different age, ya know, an age where people read more than they watched TV, movies, and the like. Perhaps he’ll never watch the movies, but then again, JRR considered movies to be the bastard children of literary masterpeices. He would have never wanted the movies to be made.
Nevertheless, in the end, the movies will be made. There’s too much money at stake. Even so, my hope is that when children and adults see the movies, that they pick up the books for the real adventure.
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I agree that JRRT did not prefer movies to their literary works, however I strongly feel that if he had been granted an opportunity to see the rich world that was created by Mr. Jackson and company, even JRR himself would have been surpized with the reality of it. Peter Jackson and the Weta folks engineered Middle Earth with huge respect not only for the literary works themselves, but also to the various artists of Middle Earth, including JRRT, who have presented us with iconic characters, places and events.
Now that the LOTR movies have been made, I would venture a guess that JRR himself would prefer that a truest possible continuation of the tale should be presented. Where can that material come from? We have already named the source.
Back to the Trust for a moment - what is fair is fair. That outstanding item should be settled.
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Imladris_elf Reply:
August 3rd, 2009 at 8:45 am
@Underhill, I have to disagree just a little. I believe JRRT would be disappointed with how some of the characters were “cheapened.” Gimli recommending to Aragorn that he not honor his word to the king of the dead? No. Denethor came across as a hillbilly bully than a great lord of men tormented by Sauron. Worst of all, to me, Sam would NEVER have been so ungracious as to ASK for a knife as a gift from the Lady of Lorien. Unthinkable.
Those kind of things aside (there were a few other examples) I believe Jackson did a wonderful job bringing the stories to the screen in ways that would have made JRRT proud.
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w/e i just hope the movies will be made.
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But didn’t the action in the Silmarillion take place before the Hobbit anyway? Why would they use any material from the Silmarillion in this film?
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Greetings!
I’ll admit that this quick reply includes some snippets from Wikipedia - I didn’t have a chance to look things up directly this last weekend.
“The Silmarillion comprises five parts. The first part, Ainulindalë, tells of the creation of Eä, the world. Valaquenta, the second part, gives a description of the Valar and Maiar, the supernatural powers in Eä. The next section, Quenta Silmarillion, which forms the bulk of the collection, chronicles the history of the events before and during the First Age. The fourth part, Akallabêth, relates the history of the Downfall of Númenor and its people, which takes place in the Second Age. The final part, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age, is a brief account of the circumstances which led to and were presented in The Lord of the Rings.”
On that last section the Wikipedia folks summarize it this way:
“Of The Rings of Power and the Third Age
The concluding section of the book, comprising about twenty pages, describes the events that take place in Middle-earth during the Second and Third Ages. In the Second Age, Sauron emerged as the main power in Middle-earth, and the Rings of Power were forged by Elves led by Celebrimbor. Sauron secretly forged his own ring to control the others, which led to war between the peoples of Middle-earth and Sauron, culminating in the War of the Last Alliance, in which Elves and the remaining Númenóreans united to defeat Sauron, bringing the Second Age to an end. The Third Age opens with the passing of the One Ring to Isildur, who is ambushed at the Gladden Fields shortly after, causing the loss of the One Ring. This section also gives a brief overview of the events leading up to and taking place in The Lord of the Rings, including the waning of Gondor, the re-emergence of Sauron, the White Council, Saruman’s treachery, and Sauron’s final destruction along with the One Ring.”
I am quite sure that you can see that there is a wealth of material written by JRRT that fills in history and details of the period. Remember also that there are pieces of more events and characters in the LotR appendices as well!
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hello everybody,
As clearly stated above JRRT hated movies! he turned down numerous offers before his time ran short. (their was even a beatles movie to be made of the LOTR and if that happened i would be ashamed) i must say thank you very much for denying that disaster of a movie… back on subject… OK so as Underhill was saying i think now that technology has been further advanced and PJ had an incredible aptitude for the books and his own thoughts and ideas upon it leads me to believe JRRT would of approved of the movies. yes i don’t know really how JRRT would of responded but i have a pretty good idea. There for its a guess nothing more. Just to add on to my side of the argument he only denied the offers because they couldn’t yet catch the depth of the story and the stunning locations through out middle earth. I mean to digitally generate thousands of troops fro a movie was created the same year as the movie was beginning. And Gollum was the most realistic computer generated character to date. (until recent years) there for you cannot blame JRRT for denying the movies at that time in the movie business. And the Silmarillion has incontrovertible information that is not needed but wanted. To get a further understanding of this magnificent place which took at-least 15 years to dream up of. To think it ever being excluded from the Hobbit and the 2nd movie might ruin the both. As we all well know the Sillmarillon carries so much information within its pages that it’d be a sin to deny it into the movie. Im not trying to be disrespectful to Christopher Tolkien because he knows the LOTR and everything before probably much more than any of us do. But to take out an important part of the whole FRANCHISE and maybe even ruin the movie would be a shame. If that day ever comes a fury of disappointment will sweep all of us JRRT fans off our feet. If you read this um… article thank you so very much and please comment me back! and for PJ i support you and the Hobbit movies to be. But my greatest thanks to JRRT for making my life so much better and it wouldn’t be what it is today without you.
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I think its important to remember here that Christopher Tolkien is a trustee of The Tolkien Foundation and is acting on their behalf.
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Yes yes he is a trustee but he is heading in the wrong direction with this whole conflict. He should be trying to promote what he has helped write and try and convince the foundation of his works. the last thing i would want to do is to shut down the whole operation over a handful of money. They at the most should just ask for more this time for the content of the sillmarillon to be intertwined with the hobbit’s double shooting. Which we all Know will bring in well over billions of dollars for the struggling movie production AND the Tolkien Foundation.
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Dont really want to see Jimmy get the Bilbo roll any way. Personally i think Jack Black is a better choice, i think he has the capability to play a serious roll but has the comedic skill and timing to play a perfect hobbit… and hes got the round bilbo belly already.
As for Mr. Tolkien, can you blame a guy for wanting to put a stop to this if its true that he is still needing to collect on some royalties from the first movies???? If that is the case then they should get him his money and get on with the show. The silmarillion would be a good link of the two stories if it could be incorperated properly.
On the other side of the coin i think that if Cristopher Tolkien decides against allowing its use for the movie it would ultimately hurt his enterprise. LOTR, and the Tolkien family should be kissing Peter Jackson’s feet and thanking him and the Weta workshop for creating a masterpiece of film. I have no doubt that the Hobbit would be produced and directed with the same scrutiny to detail and minimal changing of book to film.
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About Bilbo casting… before I even had any access to these websites I thought James McAvoy could make the perfect Bilbo. He’s incredibly talented, and has the “look” to be a hobbit. My vote is for James!
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patrick are you being serious? Jack Black????? ill admit his comedy acting skills are great… but on the other hand his serious roles all seem average! i mean you can so get some one better i mean the last movie won 11 academy awards. ha he does have the look though but i just don’t think he’s suitable to play a hobbit of the Shire.
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Yes, Balin, I’m being serious. Peter Jackson trusted him enough to give him a big roll in King Kong and he pulled it off. I’m not talking about roll calling Tenacious D. I think if given the chance JB could really make a great Bilbo Baggins…..
I’m curious though… it’s obvious that they are going to cast the roll slightly younger than what is in the book… Bilbo was 50 something when he found the ring… Well they did it with Frodo so why not Bilbo i guess.
Extremely happy that gandalf and saruman will be played by Sir Ian and Christopher Lee. I guess what i’m most excited to see is all the dwarves! Happy weekend to you all.
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The problem with the son of Tolkien is that New Line Cinema not want to pay millions of dollars they said they would pay at the time of purchasing the rights to make the films. Christopher Tolkien is defending a claim legitimate, and not just left as the bad that refuses to cooperate. Those who are late are all New Line Cinema
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I don’t blame Christopher Tolkien one bit for opposing the movies.
While I enjoyed them, Jackson made giant errors with the lore that were totally unneeded to make the movies better.
to wit:
Elves at Helms Deep? WTF? seriously WTF??!! It was pointless, added nothing to the story that couldn’t have been done with 60 seconds of showing elves battling orcs on the borders of Lorien with a voice-over.
How could he make Faramir, one of the most noble characters among all men portrayed in the books, into a cowardly little errand boy?
And finally, WTF was with making Denethor into an evil, self obsessed loon?
They took a man, who was supposed to have power and vision rarely seen since Numenor, and ruined it. Instead of telling the tragic story of a strong and dedicated (if jealous) ruler driven mad after years of struggling with Sauron over the palantir, they just made him a pathetic fool.
Again, I enjoyed the movies. I have directors’ cut of all three and watch them fairly often.
But Jackson F***ed up the lore rather badly, and needlessly at that.
If I were Tolkein, I’d insist on editorial rights so make sure Del Toro doesn’t screw it up as badly as Jackson did.
Cutting scenes for length, making Arwen something other than a fainting damsel is one thing. That’s the movie business and you have to appeal to a modern audience. But adding crap you pulled out of the air that actually detracts from the story must have made JRR spin in his grave and I’m sure his son was quite rightly VERY upset.
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While I find the movies to be highly enjoyable, I still watch them eight+ times a year, Jackson definitely screwed with the plot quite a bit, removing important content and adding in stuff which, quite frankly, sucked. I whole heartedly support Christopher Tolkien in acquiring the money he is rightly owed; New Line is being insatiably greedy, LotR is the highest grossing film trilogy of all time, beating out both Star Wars and The Godfather, making a massive $2.91 billion of which Christopher is only asking for $150 million, a relatively small amount in comparison. My one fear of this lawsuit is that if the worst comes to the worst we may never see The Hobbit. If Christopher Tolkien is listening somewhere out there in cyberspace then please, DO NOT ALLOW THE MISTAKES OF THE PAST TO BECOME THE DOOM OF THE FUTURE. New Line screwed up, don’t do the same. Don’t let The Hobbit die on it’s hairy feet.
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I agree with you that the LotR movies are enjoyable, but with some annoying errors. And I would love to see the Hobbit movies, but they should avoid doing big errors and changing the plot too much. Therefore, they should let Christopher Tolkien read through the movie script, so they could do some changes to it if he’s not content. But please, Chris, don’t kill the movie!
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I worry about this film…
Stupid stubborness over monies has put this film in jeopardy already and contributed to a situation where PJ is not directing the film.
New Line Cinema should be willing to just pay the money (they probably do owe it anyway). On the other side of the coin, Christopher Tolkien and the Trust should also be willing to compromise if it becomes necessary, remembering the huge support from loyal Tolkien fans and that there will be a lot of disappointment if the project falls through.
For all my worrying, I believe that they’ll work it out. After all, making TWO hobbit movies should be very good for the both the Trust and New Line bank accounts!
At first a couple of things perplexed me. Why make two films- it was only one book, right? Other than Sir Ian and Serkis, who else could you really bring back from LOTR? Holm would be too old… In my purist way of thinking, most LOTR characters are not in The Hobbit.
Then I got practical…making two movies is really about making money. These are businessmen and they are designing a venture that will be profitable. They’ll try all possible avenues, including finding ways to feature the most popular characters from LOTR movies. To gaurantee a box office success. Fans should have faith that the moneymen have already crunched the numbers and they won’t let a little lawsuit over a paltry 150 mil stop this money train.
I think we’ve been fortunate as Tolkien fans that PJ was so true to the novels. He really didn’t mess with it too much. I remember leafing frantically through the books because I was sure the elves never came to Helm’s Deep…. But in the end from a film making point of view, it worked out.
I also think he made some sensible choices when it came to cutting parts of the book. Forgive me, but there was really no way to properly integrate Tom Bombadil (I suspect even JRRT must have had trouble with it). And I’m glad PJ tried to give a depth to Arwen that you don’t find in the books (but rather in the appendices).
It could have been worse, PJ and Co. could just have bowed to crass commercialism and created a quick thrill fantasy adventure, instead of the enduring epic they did give us.
I hope they do the same for the Hobbit but this book is going to be tricky to pull off, so that it isn’t campy or too comical or too dark or just plain boring- and at the same time satisfy JRRT fans and not embarass the legacy of Tolkien. This will really test their skills as film makers.
I confess I worry…..
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I have to disagree with Jubal’s assessment of how Faramir was protrayed in the movie, he was not cowardly.
Tolkien laid out a very complex family relationship in Return of the King and PJ did well to capture it in the film without overburdening us.
I think that PJ managed to show us that Faramir was a sad young man, a poet- not a warrior- at heart, carrying a heavy burden he didn’t feel equal to. A man with no less love for his land than his brother had, nor any less of a sense of duty- yet walking in the shadow of that larger-than-life hero that was Boromir. He tried his best but he just wasn’t the Captain of Gondor. He was failing, and the knowledge that it was inevitable anyway (in the face of the threat of Mordor) was no help. He had lost forever his brother whom he loved dearly. And it was clear that he was a great disappointment to his father. They were both grieving for Boromir and the impending lost of Gondor, but they couldn’t help each other.
And on top of all this, a hundred thousand orc on his front door….
I’d cry too.
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Are they going to bring back Hugo Weaving to play Elrond?
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Okay, slow down.
1. Jack Black….sorry, this isn’t a stupid comedy. Jack Black would ruin the movie because of his history in the movies (not saying that he is a bad actor…just saying this isn’t his type of movie)
2. Acually Jubal, I liked that the elves came to Helms Deep. Without them, it does look impossible to win against such a huge army of orcs. Plus, who wouldn’t want them? I think that it was a great idea even though it wasn’t written in the text. It just shows that you don’t have to go by the rules to make a great movie. great job PJ
3. Who wouldn’t want James to play in this movie?. Personally, he has already played a faun (narnia) and if he would play this, it would make a great list of characters that he has played. He is capable of a lot of things. I hope he would play the part. I think that he is a better option than jack black. However, I would like to know who else could possibly be Bilbo
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I like Martin Freeman for Bilbo, but how about Ricky Gervais. He’s round, short, bumbling yet smart at times, and could probably act the part if he could stop laughing for a few minutes.
Plus he’s British, which is somewhat important.
Just thought I would throw it out there.
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Jubal - Don’t forget he also killed off haldir with his little oooh lets put elves at helms deep bit. I was so angry when I saw that in the movie that the first time I saw the two towers I couldn’t even enjoy the last half of it.
I love these movies and have always supported their production and read all the books before the movies were released. However, I must say if it weren’t for the extended versions of the movies I would have been totally outraged over the whole thing. And even then I was still outraged over him completely removing the scouring of the shire at the end of the third movie. He made it so that the ending that was so eye opening and important was blah and held no deeper meaning. That was their chance to save the shire and for the people of the shire to see the world for what it was and not take it for granted so to speak. But instead he made it so that nothing had changed at all and they just got looked at oddly when they returned. He ruined the last part of the movie for me because he didn’t just take out a scene he changed the message of the movie with that action.
As far as Mr. Christopher Tolkien is concerned they should give him what they promised, he has every right to be angry over that as well as some parts of the movies and how they were portrayed. However, it would be wrong of him to rob the fans of these books of the rest of the movies. I hope they work those things out and everyone can end up leaving happy.
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Whooopsies! I meant story, he changed the meaning of the story, not movie, or well he changed that too but it’s yeah the story that the movies are based on….yeah you get what I mean
“He ruined the last part of the movie for me because he didn’t just take out a scene he changed the message of the movie(<—story) with that action.”
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Jesus Christ, I can’t beleive how crazy some people get. Nahriel - If you’re still reading these posts check out some of the arguments i and others make on the Del Toro wants 5 part movie page. Honestly, Haldir was barely a tertiary character and having him and the elves fighting and dying along side the humans was a beautiful touch and showed that the elves weren’t just a cold race of Vulcans who would leave Middle Earth merely to save their own skins and leave the rest of us to rot.
As to your other point, the ending of the films was long enough as it was. The scouring of the Shire would have been a quite negative note to finish on and leaving it out ( while I sympathize with your personal distress ) did in no fundamental way objectively change the ” meaning ” of the story. I know it’s hard for some of us to lose our favorite scenes when books are adapted into films but directors are artists too, and getting so upset about some changes ( unless they FUNDAMENTALLY change the story ) will only hurt our OWN enjoyment of otherwise fantastic films.
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Hey all,
You all have very good points.It’s great that they are finally making the hobbit movie.I honestly didn’t think it would ever happen.I was kinda wondering the same thing as laserbird28.Will they have Hugo Weaving back as Elrond?I hope so coz I can’t imagine anyone else for the role.
Although I have to admit I’m very excited about how they will bring Smaug to life.(And a litttle detail like Bilbo receiving the mithril shirt would be a nice extra.)
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Nahriel, I understand being a little upset at removing the scouring of the Shire. But honestly, this is a big budget movie with big studios who do have the power to say “we want a happier ending, change it”. Also, I do honestly feel that if the scouring was there it would have become “wait, i thought that WAS the ending” movies. Like Casino Royale. I thought it was over like 2 or 3 times before it was, and it didn’t really make it bad, it just stopped the flow of the story. To suddenly jump from exciting victory, etc. to MORE conflict with a character that has already been wrapped up would trip up the audience. Also, the movie would have been four hours long.
And I agree with everyone who thinks the Hobbit movie should be made and not inhibited by Christopher Tolkein, BUT…
…they really shouldn’t make a second part from the Silmarillion. That is taking it much too far, and should never put under the name of the Hobbit. The Hobbit can be done in one film, beautifully and smoothly (in my opinion). There shouldn’t be an added part 2 that Tolkein never intended. If Guillermo wants to make it, then he should at least call it something else.
And I agree with lokai/disagree with jubal that jackson’s portrayal of Faramir was complex and beautiful. Honestly, he was one of my favorite characters, and I had never really been familiar with that actor before.
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I’d really like to point out that I was upset when I “first” saw the changes. I love these movies and they are now and always be my favorite movies. Somehow people seemed to have gotten the wrong message from my comment. And yes, it would have been long, but it wouldn’t have ended on a bad note. As for bring up something that was already dealt with before, the only reason it was cleared up before was because he wasn’t putting that scene in such as the bit with Saruman getting stabbed while on top of his tower in the extended version of the return of the king.
I’m happy with the way he added the elves at helms deep, I never had a problem with that part, I thought it brought a beautiful feeling to the movie and thought it should have been that way in the book because it did make them seem more caring and not as cold. What I had a problem with was him killing off a character that didn’t die in the books, that to me seemed like he was overstepping the line a bit. I’ve made my peace with all of that, and I still wish he could have kept the scouring of the shire but it didn’t happen, I just wish that the scene at the end when they got home and the old guy just looked at them like they were weird wasn’t like that, it felt empty to me. If I hadn’t read the books first it wouldn’t have felt like that in the end.
James - I wasn’t getting crazy, in fact I was being totally calm and was just saying how I felt when it happened, I’m not sitting here freaking out and allowing the changes to completely ruin the movies for me forever. Like I said before, yes I was really mad when I first saw it, I got over it. I’m not sitting here clinging to it and making it so that the movies become nothing more than my whine fest. I just wanted to clear this up, I wasn’t mad then and I’m not mad now I was simply sharing the small things that I didn’t like about the movies. I love the movies and I feel that sadly it came across more as a bash than what I had intended it to.
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Christopher Tolkien indeed should be granted his father’s posthumous royalty rights. Today, literary writers encounter a great deal of hardship because of the corrupt publishing industry, in addition to the concerning movie companies. And C. Tolkien haplessly inherited his father’s hardship; now, he must to defend his father’s posthumous rights as well as his own. Yet, I’m sure he would not pose himself as an obstacle to the Hobbit movie.
To give the pertinent impression, the actor to be portraying Bilbo Baggins in the Hobbit should employ the British accent or merely be British. This is somewhat essential for the propensity of the Tolkien’s storytelling.
The second Hobbit movie can be fun but would definitely underline a commercial image that can disrupt the whole theme. The book can be told within one movie within approx. three hours in lenght. I am glad that Howard Shore is back with new music to lead the movie to its own beauty.
If envisioned, Silmarillion and Children of Hurin should be independent movies from Hobbit ot LOTR because they have their own outstanding storytelling, though slur broken by Tolkien. A war against the whole world’s Arch enemy Melkor (the master of Sauron) by the Elven-King Fingolfin and his fellows would be another legendary scene, parallel to the events in LOTR, but not the same. And following this, the fate of Numenoreans can also be portrayed to interconnect the whole events from beginning to end in master Tolkien’s world.
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