The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’s Greatest Battle Gets Torn Apart by Warfare Expert

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Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy is considered one of the greatest fantasy movies ever made, celebrated both for its faithfulness to the popular books and as a fantastic film in its own right. Despite its success, it’s important to remember it wasn’t intended to be historically accurate.

On the Insider podcast “How Real Is It?”, medieval fortifications expert Michael Fulton, a history professor at Western University in Canada, reviewed the defenses shown in several films, including the 2003 movie The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Unfortunately, he found the portrayals lacking in accuracy.

The review of The Lord of the Rings begins around 5 minutes and 4 seconds in, and focuses on how realistically one of the franchise’s most famous battles—the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, featuring Gandalf and Théoden against Sauron—was portrayed. Fulton points out, “These catapults don’t look right—the stones appear to gain speed as they’re launched, which isn’t how they actually work.”

Fulton pointed out that the stone fragment is much larger than the engine that launched it, suggesting a significant impact force.

He explained that throwing severed heads was a genuine practice used in psychological warfare. It was a clear attempt to intimidate the enemy. He cited the First Crusade in 1097, when both attacking and defending forces hurled heads at one another as an example.

Fulton continued his assessment of the castle’s defenses, pointing out that placing a large trebuchet – a type of powerful siege engine – on a tower wouldn’t make sense. He explained it was simply too heavy, and while it might offer a slightly longer range, the benefit wasn’t significant. He argued a trebuchet would have been more effective positioned behind a tower, shielded from enemy attacks. Fulton emphasized that while trebuchets were valuable weapons, their portrayal in movies often exaggerates their impact.

Despite its fantastical nature, I’m giving this a 1 out of 10,” Fulton stated. However, even with that harsh critique, the Battle of the Pelennor Fields in The Return of the King is a truly spectacular way to end such a popular series, even if it’s far from realistic.

Notable depictions of battles also appear in films like 2018’s Outlaw King and The Great Battle, 2011’s Ironclad, and the classic 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Television shows have also featured significant battles, including Season 3, Episode 8 of Vikings (“To the Gates!”), which focuses on an assault on Paris, and Season 2, Episode 9 of Game of Thrones (“Blackwater”), renowned for the Battle of Blackwater.

The Lord of the Rings Is Heading Back to Theaters

Peter Jackson’s initial Lord of the Rings trilogy has expanded into a larger series of films and shows. This includes the Hobbit prequel trilogy, the Prime Video series The Rings of Power – set in Middle-earth’s Second Age – and the animated film The War of Rohirrim, released in 2024. Despite these additions, the original trilogy remains the core of the franchise.

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring – the first movie in the series, released in 2001 – all three extended editions will be available for a limited time.

I’m so excited! They’re bringing The Lord of the Rings trilogy back to the big screen with DBOX – that’s going to be amazing! It’ll be in theaters January 16th to 19th, 2026, and then a regular showing from January 23rd to 25th. But that’s not all – they’re also making a new movie, The Hunt for Gollum, and it’s supposed to have a lot of the characters we already love! It’s coming out in December 2027, and I can’t wait!

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2025-12-06 22:36