Lord Of The Rings’ 2027 Movie Will Show The REAL Sauron After Peter Jackson’s Controversial Change

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As a lifelong fan of Tolkien, I’m really excited about ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum’ coming out in 2027. From what I understand, it’s going to focus heavily on Gollum’s journey, but Sauron will still be the big bad. It’s interesting because in the original books, Sauron is never really seen. He’s this looming, shadowy figure pulling the strings from Barad-dûr in Mordor. Tolkien describes him more as a feeling – this all-seeing ‘eye’ that seems to know everything happening in Middle-earth, though it’s more of a way to show his power than a literal eye, really.

Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films depicted Sauron as a powerful, visible force by creating the Eye of Sauron as a massive, flaming eye located on top of his fortress, Barad-dûr. This giant eye became the main visual representation of Sauron throughout the trilogy. While some fans debated this change, it worked well for the movies by giving audiences a clear and imposing villain to focus on.

Turning Sauron into a giant, fiery eye presents a bit of a challenge for the game The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum Can Give Sauron A Physical Form

Andy Serkis’ film, The Hunt for Gollum, appears to take place just before the events of The Lord of the Rings. It seems the movie will show what happened when Gollum was imprisoned in Mordor. As the original trilogy explains, Gollum was tortured there and revealed the One Ring’s location – the Shire – before being freed, only to be quickly captured again by Aragorn and Gandalf.

Interestingly, one of the most notable moments of Gollum’s journey to Mordor was when he briefly saw what Sauron truly looked like. Gollum recalled a black hand with a missing finger – the one Isildur had cut off – and the story strongly suggests that Sauron personally interrogated Gollum, trying to find out about the Ring.

Although the book only briefly mentioned it, and the movie The Fellowship of the Ring showed little of Gollum’s suffering without Sauron appearing, The Hunt for Gollum has the opportunity to explore Gollum’s time in Mordor in greater detail. Showing Sauron, even just a glimpse of his dark hand, would be a particularly exciting addition to the on-screen adaptation of Tolkien’s work.

Would Showing Sauron’s Physical Body Contradict The Lord Of The Rings Movies?

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Sauron isn’t the all-seeing eye often depicted. Instead, he’s portrayed as a weakened figure confined to Barad-dûr, issuing commands. He relies on the One Ring to regain his full power, and the story confirms he existed as a physical being – Gollum’s experiences prove this.

Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films presented a different idea. Saruman claimed Sauron couldn’t have a physical body without the Ring, implying the Eye of Sauron was simply a representation of his power and spirit. However, a deleted scene from The Return of the King showed a brief vision of Sauron in armor with a palantír, hinting he might have gained enough strength to appear physically by the end of the series. Before that, the movies never suggested Sauron had a body at all.

Given that The Hunt for Gollum aims to fit within the established movie timeline, is it believable to show Sauron physically tormenting Gollum? Even if Saruman was wrong about Sauron needing the Ring to have a physical form, how could Sauron, without the Ring and stationed in Barad-dûr, generate and maintain the powerful, ever-watching Eye of Sauron over Mordor?

Showing Sauron in The Hunt for Gollum presents a problem because it clashes with established lore. Either it undermines the idea that the Eye is Sauron – as presented in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films – or it makes Sauron too powerful by having him physically present while simultaneously maintaining the powerful, all-seeing Eye. While the concept of the Eye seemed reasonable initially, this alteration from the original books could prove problematic for The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.

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2025-12-07 17:11