5 Surprising Facts Even Hardcore Fans Don't Know About Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is beloved around the world. Millions of fans watch the movies every year and they are just as enjoyable as the first time.

The Return of the King concludes Peter Jackson's great trilogy. The third movie has both a climax and a denouement, and becomes the biggest, most epic and grandiose of them all.

However, there are many behind-the-scenes details that are unknown to most viewers.

Pippin Singing

The heartbreaking scene in which Pippin sings at Denethor's command shows how much the Hobbit has matured. Pippin simply and humbly accepts what is happening and suffers from its injustice and darkness.

This scene is considered by many to be the most touching in the movie, all because of the soulful singing of Pippin's performer, Billy Boyd.

Screenwriter Philippa Boyens once heard the actor singing in karaoke and decided to include the scene in the movie. Thank you, Philippa.

Oliphaunts

Without a doubt, one of the most epic and breathtaking action scenes in The Return of the King is the appearance of oliphaunts on the side of Sauron's army.

These giant elephants took the scale of the final battle to a new level. The dead oliphaunt carcass used in the movie was not a special effects product.

It is the largest prop ever built for a movie. And Peter Jackson wanted it to be even bigger.

The Black Gate Battle

The Battle at the Black Gate is one of the most epic in the trilogy. Of course, to create such a scene, a huge number of extras were needed.

Peter Jackson, as always, was inventive and to increase the size of the armies, invited several hundred New Zealand troops to participate.

The latter obviously had much fun filming, as they broke a lot of wooden swords.

Gollum 's Death

Peter Jackson originally wanted to end the story of Frodo and Gollum in a very different way. Frodo had to kill Gollum with his own hands by pushing him into the mouth of Mount Doom.

Fortunately, he later abandoned this decision, as it was too much at odds with the original source and not quite in keeping with Frodo's character.

Witch King Image

At a test screening of the movie, many viewers were misled by the image of the Witch King, who looked so much like Sauron that almost everyone thought the Dark Lord had joined the battle.

Peter Jackson decided to correct this misunderstanding by redoing all the scenes in which this character was involved.

However, many people still feel that the Witch King looks too much like Sauron.