LOTR Unreleased Scene: The Elven King Gil-Galad

Gil-Galad was almost completely cut from "The Lord of the Rings." Initially intended to play a significant role in the prologue, including a battle with Sauron, his presence was reduced to brief glimpses. Actor Mark Ferguson was surprised by this decision, as he believed Gil-Galad was central to the plot. The focus shifted to Elrond, a character appearing throughout the trilogy.

[MiddleEarthUpdates]

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[ahobbit]

That poor actor! Imagine telling everyone and being so excited to be in such an incredible blockbuster, and then you get cut out almost completely.

[CheddarMannn]

That would also explain why in the movie Sauron reaches for Isildur with his hand instead of bonking him to the ground - he wanted to burn him like he did Gil-Galad

[jeffweatherby]

" we need an extended-extended version" button

[thGenNewton]

Elrond was Gil-galad's herald during the Last Alliance's war against Sauron. The Alliance, which included Elves, Men, AND DWARVES (absent for the battle in the films), defeated Sauron's army at the Battle of Dagorlad and then laid siege to Barad-dûr for seven years. When Sauron and his forces advanced to the slopes of Mount Doom, Elrond, Círdan, and Isildur stood alongside Gil-galad and Elendil, the Alliance's captains. Sauron killed both Gil-galad and Elendil during the siege after emerging in a last ditch attempt to turn the tide in his favor; Elrond and Círdan were the only ones who remained with Gil-galad when he fell. While Sauron may have defeated both captains, he was also brought down himself. Isildur then cut the ring off of Sauron’s finger, destroying his physical form and dispersing his spirit. After the battle, Elrond and Círdan counseled Isildur to destroy the One Ring which he declined, instead claiming the ring as weregild and now a new family heirloom. It took some time for him to realize his mistake but when he finally did, it was too late. Isildur was killed on his journey to Rivendell to bring the ring to Elrond.

[Sun.Shine-]

I think showing Gil Galad's death would've added an added horror to Sauron's intro as Gil Galad is a top tier Elf King & Commander.

[rambo-cambo]

I wish this could have made it into the extended editions

[generalgrievous]

We really need a way longer cut of the films

[johanabigasova]

Battle Sauron one on one? It was two on one - Gil-Galad and Elendil vs Sauron.

[excessivelyfangirlingbookw]

Absolutely understand why his scenes were cut but maaan would I be disappointed if my role was cut down to only a brief occurrence. I feel for the actor 😢

[e.s.l]

…. All this years I thought it was Elrond stabbing that Orc..

[michacieslak]

It's sad we didn't get to see it, but it's understandable. Movies and books have different logic when it comes to showing "things". I mean, books can have some lore dumps, episodic characters, that can tell their story in one chapter, etc. Movies tend to have different structure, you're supposed to watch 2-3h movie and know mostly everything you need to know, without seeking external explanation.

That's kind of why Glorfindel was swapped for Arwen in the movie - Glorfindel is a great character, but serves very little role in LOTR, while Arwen has other role - her love story with Aragorn. So using her character makes more sense, than using elf you'll never see again. Especially since saving Frodo is a VERY important bit of the story, so it shouldn't be done by some "extra" that you won't see again.

When you read the book, you realize Glorfindel and Gil-Galad are like protagonists of different stories, having cameos here. And that's why you might start looking for some more info about them. But that's book storytelling, movie storytelling is bit different.

[fgdj]

I think it’s so funny that Jackson’s Gil-Galad looks almost exactly like the actor playing him now in Rings of Power 😅uncanny! Maybe an actual elf?

[markkuijpers]

5 vs 1. Gil-Galad flanked by Elrond and Círdan, and Elendil with Isildur. Sauron was vanquished "for the Spear of Gil-Galad and the Sword of Elendil, Aeglos and Narsil, none could withstand." But both kings perished as well

[Lionblaze-Prime]

I wish they maintained him, it would have been much more interesting, especially because Gil Galad is one of the most important characters in the books

[jcuttyfoe]

I feel like we are definitely going to get Gil Gilads death and a recreation of the LOTR prologue at the end of the Rings of Power show

[agonsfitness]

Gil-Galad is the character I most want to see restored. I cannot explain how disappointed I was watching the extended editions for the first time and I realised nothing extra was added for him.

[ashwoshproduction]

I think it's because they didn't think it'd be a strong enough start for the movie. They'd have to get you invested in the character only to then kill him off immediately. It'd kill the momentum of the opening sequence. They'd need too much time for it to work in the edit and the prologue is already 7 minutes.

[drewbobaggins]

Release the extended extended editions!

[racheltheradiant]

Wow this Gil-Galad looks much better than the Rings of Power one. Just a few clips and he already has more presence.