The Lord of the Rings universe is expanding, and exciting opportunities will come to further develop Middle-earth’s lore and characters. With that expansion, future LOTR films can capitalize on one largely missed Sauron opportunity. Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans to release several new LOTR films. The first release will be the animated The War of the Rohirrim at the end of 2024, followed by The Hunt for Gollum in 2026, with a second live-action film planned for a later date. These installments have the opportunity to mature the franchise’s narrow depictions of Sauron.

Peter Jackson most often portrayed Sauron (Sala Baker) in his cinematic The Lord of The Rings trilogy as the flaming and ever-watchful eye. In The Hobbit film series, Jackson showed a veiled Sauron (Benedict Cumberbatch) as The Necromancer. This shadowy and vague form eventually came to embody the armored Sauron shown in Jackson’s films. Jackson, more often than not, used abstract depictions to represent the Dark Lord. With Amazon Prime’s The Rings of Power featuring a nuanced and physical Sauron (Charlie Vickers), new LOTR movies have grounds to unveil a more complex villain.

Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings Movies Keep Their Distance From Sauron’s Character

He Was First Represented As A Giant Eye

Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movies distanced themselves from Sauron’s physical embodiment and personality. Jackson chose to keep Sauron’s character detached from Middle-earth, leaning into his symbolism and influence while keeping the film’s focus on the One Ring and its sway over the story. Although this approach successfully produced a villain whose mystique alludes to power beyond Gandalf’s (Ian McKellen), it reduces his active involvement in the story. Jackson admits that having Sauron embodied as a giant eye prevented him from participating in the story in any significant way.

Jackson admits that having Sauron embodied as a giant eye prevented him from participating in the story in any significant way.

This take on The Dark Lord was an effective way to exhibit his lack of wholeness during his attempt to reobtain the One Ring that could reinstate his full power. With Tolkien’s Sauron having an intentionally unclear form and never appearing before any of the characters in the book, Jackson was forced to visually remind his audience of the leading antagonist’s presence and threat. There is also little subtlety to Sauron’s character in Jackson’s films. Sauron is a force bent on instilling discord, reclaiming the One Ring, and ultimately destroying what is good. Motivations and emotions are excluded from his goal to dominate Middle-earth.

Jackson, in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies, does appear to begin retconning his disembodied representation of Sauron. Jackson shows flames forming the iconic eye, but where the pupil sits, Sauron’s silhouette begins to form, and he reveals his physical body. There are also brief moments where a brightly lit Sauron is shown, possibly alluding to his earlier Maia form.

Warner Bros. New LOTR Movies Can Finally Portray Sauron The Way Tolkien Describes Him

The Shape Of a Large, Strong Man

With Warner Bros. expanding Middle-earth, Sauron can be portrayed as embodied and nuanced, closer to what Tolkien envisioned. Although Tolkien did leave Sauron’s character somewhat vague in his The Lord of the Rings books, some specifics about Sauron can be gleaned from Tolkien’s letters and the appendix of LOTR. It is challenging to visually portray Sauron because, like all the Ainur (the Holy Ones, referring to all the Valar and Maiar), he is capable of taking many forms and is not in a consistent body.

Sauron’s character, according to Tolkien, was not simply attempting to conquer Middle-earth for the sake of power. Sauron was one of Aulë’s (a Valar concerned with rock and metal) until being corrupted by Melkor (Morgoth). Sauron desired order over all else, and he chose to follow Melkor as a means to achieve this yearning. This obsession was so consuming for Sauron that it overcame all other concerns.

In his letters, Tolkien states that Sauron assumed the shape of a large man, but not enormous. He was also a strong and impressive figure. Gollum, when speaking to Frodo in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, says that Sauron “has only four on the Black Hand,” clearly referencing a Third Age embodied Sauron who carried his wounds from the War of the Last Alliance when Isildur cut off his finger and the One Ring. The Silmarillion mentions Sauron becoming a werewolf, a serpent, and a vampire. Regardless of form, Sauron is an embodied being.

Tolkien did mention the eye imagery personified in Jackson’s films with references to the Eye of Mordor, Window of the Eye, Eye of Barad-dûr, and the Great Eye. These references are symbolic though, meant to symbolize Sauron as he looked out an opening in the tower of Barad-dûr, viewing events hundreds of miles away. These are also representations of Sauron’s fierce observation. In the third age, Sauron accepted the Red Eye as an icon to signify his character.

The Rings Of Power Proves What A Compelling Villain Sauron Can Be

A Complete Change From Jackson’s Depiction Of The Villain

Amazon Prime Video’s The Rings of Power shows what a captivating and complex character Sauron can be. The Rings of Power veered from Peter Jackson’s symbolic representation of Sauron, choosing to fully embody him in the forms of Halbrand, Annatar, an anonymous human (Jack Lowden), and a sentient black substance. Even after Jack Lowden’s Sauron was killed by Adar (Sam Hazeldine) and his orcs, he bleeds out and becomes a physical dark mass, never entirely losing substance. Sauron’s consistent physicality in The Rings of Power is a complete change from Jackson’s depiction of the villain.

The Rings of Power took the eye imagery that Jackson depicted literally and brought it back to its intended form as an analogy. Adar decisively accomplishes this in season 2, episode 6, when talking about Sauron to Galadriel (Morfydd Clark). Adar says that Sauron’s “eye bores a hole while the rest of him slithers in,” signifying Sauron’s masterful ability to manipulate those around him.

IMDB’s Highest Rated Episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Episode Number
Title
IMDB Score

S1.E6
Udûn
8.7

S2.E7
Doomed to Die
7.8

S1.E8
Alloyed
7.7

The Rings of Power shaped a more nuanced Sauron than Tolkien or Jackson did. The most poignant moments revealing Sauron’s complexity are during his interactions with Galadriel and Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards). After Sauron reveals his true self to Galadriel and asks her to be his queen, she rejects him, which he receives tearfully. Later, Sauron divulges his identity to Celebrimbor and shares his pained origin story wherein he implies being tortured by Morgoth, forcing his servitude and setting him on his current path to attain order and peace. After Celebrimbor also rejects him, Sauron tearfully ends the Elven-smith’s life.

The Rings of Power created a far more compelling version of Sauron than has ever been seen.

With the choice to fully embody Sauron and introduce complex emotions and motivations to his character, The Rings of Power created a far more compelling version of Sauron than has ever been seen. Even if Sauron’s stories and tears are only meant to manipulate those around him, his choice to employ such complex characteristics adds to his intrigue.

Which Upcoming Lord Of The Rings Movies Sauron Could Show Up In

The Hunt for Gollum Is More Likely To Feature The Villain

With The War of the Rohirrim releasing at the end of 2024 and The Hunt for Gollum coming in 2026, it’s reasonable to wonder if Tolkien’s lead protagonist will make an appearance in either. Sauron could show his form in both films, but The Hunt for Gollum is more likely to feature the villain.

The Hunt for Gollum will involve Gandalf’s sending Aragorn to search for Gollum (Andy Serkis) just before Frodo leaves the Shire with the One Ring. According to Tolkien, around the time of this hunt, Gollum wanders into Mordor and is captured by Sauron. Gollum is then tortured by Sauron and notices the Dark Lord’s missing finger. Eight years after his initial imprisonment, Gollum is finally released from Mordor. This timeframe and Sauron’s direct involvement with the title’s lead character leaves a lot of room for the Dark Lord to appear.

Sauron is less likely to be featured in The War of the Rohirrim, but it is possible. The film will focus on the war between the Rohirrim and the Dunlendings (later employed by Sarumon in service of Sauron) in the Third Era. Nearly 700 years before this war, The Wise (knowledgeable Elves and Wizards) feared Sauron might be taking shape. One year after the war, Sauron abides in Isengard. There is plenty of room for Sauron to show his face, especially with all the rumors and his future dealings with the Dunlendings.

With Sauron’s character being reforged by The Rings of Power into a complex and physical being, it is exciting to see how the new Lord of the Rings films can continue to make up for the lack of depth originally fashioned by Peter Jackson’s simple and symbolic portrayal of the Dark Lord. Continuing to build a more interesting Sauron is what Middle-earth needs and will hopefully continue to get.