Even after taking out Sauron, they kept the fight scene in but they digitally replaced Sauron with a troll, and at one point in the fight the troll has Aragorn pinned down with his foot and Aragorn stabs him, which makes perfect sense given that the troll was originally Sauron, since it’s a callback to when Fingolfin stabbed Morgoth in the foot during their duel in The Silmarillion.

As cool as this is, taking it out was the wise decision. The point of this battle is distracting Sauron because Frodo and Sam are the only real hope. Giving Aragorn a 1v1 with Sauron would have destroyed the key Tolkien themes of friendship and the strength of the "little folk"

Sauron directly confronting Aragon would be stupid. The whole point is that Sauron had doubts. His chief Nazgul defeated. Narsil reforged. The Heir of Isindul marching at the Black Gate. Remember, at the beginning of the trilogy we see him fight only because his armies were loosing. The Black Tower had been under siege for years before he decided to fight in person. Now, Sauron is watching everything from the Black Tower. His minions are way numerous than the opponents, compared to the 2nd era battle, and he's instead way way weaker w/o the Ring. He waited for years before intervening, in the 2nd era, and didn't go well, and he probably has learned his lesson. He's even more prudent now, and he thinks Aragorn has the Ring. To step into the field at the beginning of the battle, outside the Black Gate, w/o seeing first how it goes with his vastly superior army, would be so stupid and out of character for him.

Aragorn seeing a vision of Sauron would have been fine. When he first sees him in this clip, I think he may well have seen him as Annatar, a form he can no longer take. That would have had a certain power and resonance to it and could have symbolised Sauron trying to appeal to Aragorn's vanity - 'You can think of yourself as a peer to me now, join me...' kind of thing. Totally agree with all the comments suggesting the idea of Sauron himself on the battlefield would have been a writing disaster. Glad they took it out as it would have just been absurd.

They almost hit us with a, "Somehow Sauron returned."

I really agree that put Sauron in his phisical body in the end would be quite out of place, because we already saw him fighting in the beginning of the first film. The thing i desagree is that the director delected also the angelical form of Sauron when this part surely would be epic to see. Not to Aragorn fight it, but just to show how he is really something else like "Man, you're not just fighting a monster eye covered in flame. You're fighting a divine creature. Something that already existed before the creation of this world.".

Wow. While it is certainly good this was cut out, what it makes even more powerfull is 1) Aragorn's "For Frodo!", and 2) Merry and Pippin running directly after him. I mean, it is really heroic and noble the way it is depicted in the final movie, but having Sauron himself stand there and those little hobbits charging at him with a cry and no hesitation whatsoever is way beyond incredibly brave!

Am I the only that is fascinated and mesmerized by the Saurons light ability or spiritual projection and its theme

I like that they took the battle with Sauron out, and the explanation for why they did it is great. This moment isn’t about Aragorn facing the enemy face to face, is about all of them fighting impossible odds just to be a distraction for Frodo to accomplish his mission. Is about facing certain doom just for the hope that Goodness succeeds in the end.

It's insane that they ever even had this idea, let alone had it in the script, let alone actually filmed it.

despite being physically absent for the entire trilogy except the first scene just seeing him in front of our heroes just scares the shit out of me

The amazing part of the whole LOTR trilogy is the evil forces including Sauron could not tell the four hobbits apart while the audience who has been very acquainted with them can.

I’m glad they didn’t. But I think having Sauron appear as a beautiful angel of light and then vanishing just before the battle begins would have been creepy.

I always wondered about that part where Aragorn is almost killed by a troll during the final fight with Sauron's army. It seemed like a strange choice to have this badass warrior we've seen do so much during the three movies almost get killed by a single random troll, but knowing that that troll replaced Sauron's physical form he was originally supposed to be fighting makes that scene make so much more sense. I totally agree with the choice to remove Sauron from that battle, though.

Man there something that’s so tear jerking when the hobbits are the first ones to run into battle. And music this scene gives courage

GREATEST MOVIE OF THIS ERA AND SO ON ..... PERIOD .

That day when they finally decide to release this version..........

Ok I still loved this lol. It gave me chills of joy when Sauron said “Elessar”

I find it interesting how Legolas was taken back by his appearance.

I think this would have been out of place, even though it would make my inner geek squeal to see Aragorn duel Sauron. But also the theatrical version of Aragorn fighting a giant cave troll didn't feel right too. I think the perfect middle ground would have been to have him fight the Mouth of Sauron/ the Black Lieutenant. It would be much more fitting and more in line with the book, and still satisfying for those who want to see Aragorn fight a more worthy opponent. He is a physical representation of Sauron's will, and essentially his avatar whilst he is a disembodied spirit. Also the MoS is of the same race of people as Aragorn, but got corrupted by Sauron, so it's like Aragorn would be fighting a dark reflection of himself. Of course they would have to beef up the appearance of the MoS, so he would look like a credible threat to Aragorn - like he'd have to be 7 feet tall with heavy armour. I can see it now, with the Mouth coming out like in the original scene but he is big and imposing, looking like the dark Lord himself. He taunts the group about Frodo's supposed death, and Aragorn steps forward and threatens him, but doesn't kill him. The MoS calls forth the army of orcs, and they surround Aragorn's smaller army. We see the MoS laughing cruelly, as he knows they will crush this feeble resistance in one swoop, and Sauron's victory will be assured. Aragorn has his "for Frodo" moment and they charge against the orcs. In the midst of the fighting Aragorn meets the MoS and they begin duelling intensely. It seems like Aragorn will gain the upper hand, however the sheer numbers of orcs overwhelms them and Aragorn is attacked from behind, giving the MoS the opportunity to punish Aragorn knocking him to the ground. It seems the MoS will finish Aragorn, but Aragorn manages to hold him off long enough until Frodo destroys the Ring. As the eye of Sauron implodes, the MoS is distracted for a moment giving Aragorn the chance to behead him.

I would no have minded this, if he appeared as he did for the first few seconds all angelic and then in the armor.. then, when Aragorn charges, the light flashes again, this time red and firey. Sauron then disappears from the battlefield, and we realize it was just a vision of Sauron. Without the Ring, he cannot take physical form. The red light flashes again atop the tower and the Eye looks down on the battle in front of the Black Gate. Something along those lines would have worked, I think.

😅I always thought the armored troll-like monster fight with Aragorn felt a little out of place. Like how the cave troll was ragdolling them but Aragorn was now able to completely block the armored troll’s downward slash despite its insane mass. I can understand why they probably took this out. My guess is that they may have felt it may have been a bit confusing for the general public. Because the whole point of this trilogy’s journey is to destroy the ring so Sauron CAN’T become powerful enough to return. But he just returns and starts battling Aragorn in a physical form anyway? So does he need the ring or not? Has he built up enough power over the years to the point he no longer needs the ring? The way I see it is Sauron is projecting a shadow of himself. It’s pretty much a physical form, but it’s not his full strength. That’s still stored in the ring. That’s also why Aragorn can block his attacks and hold his own. Because it’s not Sauron’s full strength( also may have a little to do with Aragorn wielding the sword that originally defeated him). The whole point of this charge is to divert Sauron’s attention away from Mount Doom so Frodo and Sam can have a chance to slip in and finally destroy it. But the only way this obviously incredibly outnumbered army can be even a half decent diversion is A: Sauron somehow deems them as an actual threat to him and/or B: he thinks the key to his victory is within that army. This whole plan is based on the idea of “it’s just crazy enough to work”. Sauron feels no one’s that crazy as to just roll up on the front door of the equivalent of Satan’s right hand and say “what’s up pussy!We’re here to kill you! Come out and fight us bitch!”😂😂 The only reason in his mind that the idea would even be entertained is if they have the one ring and are planning to wield it against him. So it checks point A and B! So he just goes down in his weakened form to stomp out this pitiful army and get his full strength back as quickly as possible. Because there’s literally no way these people would DARE to come here WITHOUT the ring! He also probably wants a rematch on Isildur’s heir and the special sword that stopped him the first time.

It would be better if the film makers included the scene of Sauron being blown away by the wind as is told in the book.

God damn! That score is permanent goosebumps!

btw say what you want.. but when Aragorn charged first, Merry and Pippin were right there behind him as the heroes they were

This is very well put together, good job. 👍

Aragorn seeing Sauron in The Two Towers and challenging him with the Palantir would've been cool in theaters though. I think it would've hyped us up in a moment when the movie was losing just a bit of its momentum, during the Faramir bit IMO.

Always felt like they could have done some retcon where sauron might not be able to directly control but can empower certain nazguls with his own power, which would have also explained more why the witch king was so much stronger suddenly and could defeat Gandalf in the movie. Could have even had sauron using his eye to make the nazgul appear as himself to try and throw Aragorn off, with the illusion breaking with the ring being destroyed, and when Aragorn stabs the nazgul after it actually dies since sauron and his magic is dead

Hard to imagine anyone making 3 movie as great as these.

This scene was removed for 3 reasons: The scene itself strayed too far from Tolkien's text. Showing Sauron in physical form contradicted what was established in the movies, where it was mentioned that he could not take physical form unless he obtained the One Ring again. Sauron and Aragorn's fight played down Frodo's mission, since according to what was filmed, during the fight, Aragorn managed to stab Sauron with Elendil's sword at the same time that the ring melted in the lava. , which implied that both Aragorn and Frodo defeated Sauron.

This isn't a deleted scene, it's a fan edit using imagery from the game and from the prologue of FOTR. fun concept though :)

Here I am watching a 2 minute changed scene, and once again having chills and shedding tears because of this masterpiece.

I love the editing! Great job man!

As ridiculous of a writing Katastrophe this would have been It just sounds so unbelievably awesome Also l could totally see Sauron thinking Oh well l have won anyway might as well have some fun and jump in

As awesome as Sauron was in physical form he was even better in the way they released it, a mysterious presence over there above all that remains mysterious throughout. Doing it the way they do in the above clip also takes it away from the hobbits on Mt Doom.

I have mixed emotions. On one hand, having Sauron project a physical version of himself to challenge Aragorn, would have been pretty badass, all things considered. Along with Aragorn and the Hobbits charging to face him, it gave me chills - in a good way. He could exist in multiple forms and maybe even in multiple places at once, so it's not inconceivable to me he mustered enough power to squash Aragorn personally, for good. His visage would have been terrifying, and he would have known that. Aragorn showing the courage to face him and battle him, would have been chilling. On the other hand, it's not in the books and would have felt a bit off. Though I truly love the notion of throwing yourself at insurmountable odds, or an overwhelming specter of evil, and making the ultimate sacrifice, but the final version of the film was satisfying enough.

And then he listened to the Wise ones… The rest is the legend…

The amazing "What The Fuck?" Moment The Eye has when he realizes the ring is inside of Mount Doom is priceless. Having Sauron at the battlefield would make the Eye less important. We know the Eye of Sauron is made up for the movies, and not book canon, bit still, the Eye of Sauron is one of the most iconic villains in film history. Keeping the eye being the final boos to the end is better than just bringing back the guy that was killed in the Minute 3 of the trilogy.

Yeah this would not have worked, but if I have one problem outside of it it’s that I think all these films would have benefited from one more physical threat with a face. Specifically for Aragorn. Let me explain, Sauron, and Saruman are both schemers and the rest are just faceless orcs. I wish they had kept lurtz (the orc who killed boromir alive) until this moment it would have been cool to see the fellowship face off with a foe they knew and had a vendetta against in the end and not just legions of faceless monsters. Movie still rocks though.

Sauron should have showed up in physical form. He wasn't just an eyeball in the books. He had regained his physical form.

Even the deleted scenes of Lotr are insanely cool

I was always under the assumption in the films and the books that Sauron couldn't manifest physically without the ring.

Instead of Aragorn fighting him imagine a fight between Sauron and Gandalf 🤯

In his true form he looks like an angel

I learned that Sauron makes a final appearance after the ring is destroyed. He screams out as a massive dark force reaching out in despair. It would have been fun to have seen it that way.

Honestly I would love them to put this in an extended edition to where you can choose if you want this in the final scene or not. Cuz personally I wouldn't make as much sense story wise, I would love to see a version of the fight between them two. You know like fully finished and all that

I know it’s better to be replaced with a troll, but heck I couldn’t help but let out an “OH NO OH FUCK OH SHIT!!!” When ma boe Sauron came into the battlefield

They did a good job of depicting Sauron's "Mairon" form. He's actually scarier that way because he looks like an entity that could make you burst into flames just by staring at you.

good idea not putting him in and deleting it, i prefer the idea of the main enemy is hidden at all time, he is an enigma but yet everyone know who he is and he should be feared. i like the idea of this man with such power is hidden away plotting in his tower making the world go crazy.

Absolutely love the lord of the rings trilogy

One of the few things I think was a big mistake was not making Elendil & Gil-Galad's injury of Sauron known; but not having Aragorn fight Sauron was good. though having him appeal to Aragorn as Annatar could have worked

This looks fan made rather than a genuine deleted scene

looks good but breaks canon, Peter Jackson did well deleting it

Im glad they did go that road. As much as this might sound cool at a fan level it is wrong for so many reasons. First Sauron cannot take a physical form anymore, he lost that ability at the end of the 2nd age, he could not appear that way as the Nazgul did. Then it cheapens the real effort of Sam & Frodo and the courage of the little folks as Tolkien intended. Finally just for conversation purposes, lets Sauron did indeed show up for a fight, as weak as Sauron is without the ring he is still far more powerful than anyone in the 3rd age and would have completely destroyed Aragorn and most of the army without even trying. Sauron is a Maîa just like Gandalf and Saruman but not just any Maia he was the greatest Maïa, chieftain of Aulë's people. While he is about at 1/2 of his power compared to when holding the Ring he was able to defeat the likes of Gil-Galad and Elendil. So Aragorn can just take a walk According to ICE which use to be the official Middle-Earth Roleplaying game Aragorn is level 36 at the end of the 3rd age and Sauron is still level 180 down from 360 with the ring. Just saying!

I am happy they didn’t keep this in the live for the sake of sticking to the story. But fighting Sauron’s physical form head-on in a sword fight is absolutely something Aragorn would not hesitate to do. Even if Sauron defeated Aragorn, it would likely be his most difficult fight he was ever involved in.

Return of the Kiing - Rings Of Power edition

Por fin liberaron la escena

I can understand Jackson getting caught up in wanting to portray part of Morgoth's story with Fingolfin because it's so bad ass but I totally respect his decision to remain faithful to The Return of the King.

The cardboard looking cutout of Sauron killed me.

In the books Sauron didn’t lose his body, but was weakened and was sometimes described in 9 fingers The movies depicted him losing his body, but over time gained power Enough power to dim The light in the world and made his servants strong in day hours So it’s not impossible for him to gain a rudimentary form as he would want to personally deal with Aragorn

I’m going to be the odd man out on this one and say I wish they kept it in (I know I know, it’s not in the book, but let me explain). Barad dur was Sauron’s home base and much of his power was stored there. It would make sense that maybe only within a certain distance within Barad Dur that he could take physical form. This would explain why he wants/needs the ring so that he can take physical form ANYWHERE as well as have all of his complete power. As someone else noted here, it also s doesn’t make sense to fight a cave troll because of the strength differences. On a character development note for Pippin and Merry, the first interaction with a force of the enemy (namely the ringwraiths) in the Fellowship of the Ring resulted in the two hobbits being shoved aside in terror, but here they have developed the strength and courage and love to follow Aragorn in defense of Frodo against Sauron himself. This also would be a nod to Aragron’s power that he is able to fight Sauron as his ancestor did and showcases his own strength and courage of the Numenor race.

Would be cool if they left that first flash of sauron in, the fighting would be weird but seeing that vision of sauron breifly before the fight looked cool and the edit looked pretty cool how it quickly flashed his fair firm

I came for a troll and stayed for the good stuff, thank you.

Needed that

I don’t think this is a deleted scene. This looks a lot more like it is stitched together from multiple scenes from the different lotr movies. Not cool to falsely advertise as deleted. Just say what it it. People will still look, but then they won’t be misled either. 🤷‍♀️especially when this isn’t in the books and Peter Jackson was being as TRUE TO THE BOOKS as he could. He is one of the only directors to do so.

Nice!

1:33 I absolutely love this part We’ve seen Aragorn using his Dunedain strength, bracing that spear against a cave troll, tossing Gimli then holding onto a rope with one hand and Gimli in the other, etc, And Sauron, his mailed fist like wrapped in his cloak(?) just *backhands* this upstart wannabe king of men, first once, then again and just that half assed blow sends Aragorn, Elessar, heir to the Throne of the Free People of Middle-Earth, who has a body count of hundreds, sprawling and staggering backwards desperately, trying to escape the wrath of a living god more powerful than anything else currently standing on the planet Imagine how Gandalf would have felt if this had actually happened…seeing the being he feared so badly, even while standing in Valinor, unleashed on the field of battle about to kill Middle-Earth’s last heir of Gondor’s kings

Honestly, I advocate that the scene should've been KEPT, not removed/changed: 1- The movies already did lots of changes from the source material, to the point some characters and plots were completely destroyed (Saruman, anyone?). At least it'd be a cool fighting scene. Plus it'd greatly correct the incredibly stupid idea of portraying Sauron as a literal eye (no, he wasn't an eye in the book, there are plenty of descriptions of him having a humanoid/physical form). 2- For the "diversion" idea (as portrayed in the movies), it'd work way better than having an eye as a spotlight going here and there. Sauron busy fighting Aragorn was the perfect way to distract him (one could imagine him reacting with anger/fear the moment he sensed Frodo putting the One Ring). 3- The digitized troll wasn't exactly the best option to replace it. We're going to believe Aragorn spent most of the battle being pinned by your run-of-the-mill troll?

Nice editing

One of the single best decission jackson did was cutting this scene.

Im glad it was deleted but im also glad we got these alternate scenes to watch too

Is it just me or does it seem like sauron almost hypnotizes aragorn, when he looks back at everyone he has a sinister look and then gandalf waives his hand like he is cleansing the spell.

It makes sense that they removed this scene, but it would still be cool to see it in its entirety.

"I'm your father" that sauron guy "HEAVY BREATHING* ?

This fight would have been so epic, but how it turned out in the end makes more sense. Sauron put so much of himself into the One Ring that he couldn't take physical form without it, or at least it would cost him a lot of time and immense effort. I do believe he can take on a physical form again at this point, but that feels illogical since his spirit, the Eye, resides on top of Barad-dûr. Sauron and Aragorn had more of a mental fight. Sauron was afraid to fight Isildur's heir, because he caused him to lose the Ring. Aragorn was afraid to face his fate as king and suffer the same fate as his ancestor.

Lol - If you look at the first cut away at 00:00, there is a Rohirrim warrior in the 2nd on the left with a chain mail cowl, he is my brother and he is wearing glasses. The only person in middle earth with glasses.

not really a deleted scene, they just replaced him with a troll, which was one million % the right choice.

I’m glad they cut this from the final cut of the movie.

Having Sauron take physical form would have been a mistake. Sauramon said that Sauron had recovered much of his former strength but couldn’t take a physical form yet.

Wow those eagles sure can fly and fight, considering those dragons are way larger than them.

Rat race is everlasting, I'm an eagle to It. Only swoopin when I needa do It.

I had never noticed that Merry was in this battle, in the movie. He's not supposed to be.

Wow, Gandalf can run faster than anyone. Impressive.

He is so beautiful. Like an angel

Kinda glad this didn’t make the final cut. The mouth of Sauron scene however, should of definitely made the final cut. Great scene!

Not really a deleted scene at all, but a fan edit. As best I know of the lore, after losing the One Ring, and being banished back into Mordor by Galadriel in the Hobbit, I don't think he can actually manifest physically, as when Isildur cut the ring from his gauntlet. This is why during the War of The Ring, Sauron is locked up in Barad-dûr as a magic flaming eyeball.

When I see Anatar in there....GOD ITS SO EPIIIC!!!

Sauron... we meet for the first time for the last time. Narsil hungers for thy flesh; it hasn't tasted it in centuries....

Denethor once told Pippin that the Dark Lord would only depart his fortress so he could triumph over the ruined West. Good to see Sauron in his "fair form" but having him in combat with Aragorn would be a creative mistake.

Interesting, but Sauron was always more menacing while he hid in the shadows. Making him appear in physical form opens up too many plotholes and issues that would spoil the movie.

Maybe they should've have had Aragorn fight the Mouth Of Sauron.

Yeah, Sauron casually returns and Gandalf just stands there like nothing. Gandalf is not allowed using his full power unless something like this happening. Good it was cut out

This is not Sauron, our new and improved Sauron is pouty and shaved headed!

Honestly i was hoping it would instantly do a 180 and show the scene of Sauron smashing soldiers around after the charge.

As a kid i was disspointed that Sauron dont show up for the final battle.

Omg 😱 that was sooo cool! I mean like what just happened?! It made it seem as though Aragorn was momentarily possessed by Sauron’s spirit (that’s just me) in order to trick him into killing the orcs. But then again, it was also more likely that he appeared a few seconds before Aragorn turned n said for Frodo. I really hope I am not misreading or hallucinating something here, coz that video was awesome 👏!!!

Now Sauron looks like Eminem, the one MC to rule them all.

Don’t you hate it when as a wizard you run out of spells

Cheesy fanfiction maneuver. Like George Lucas inserting Vader bellowing "No!" in the scene with the emperor zapping Luke with Force lighting the scene in ROTJ, before Vader tosses Palpatine down the chasm.

Really wish they had cleaned this up a little and used it for one of the games. It would have really fit in well; hell, with the setting we could have had different results based on what character the player uses, imagine Merry or Pippin managing to beat Sauron.