In the upcoming animated film, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, the late Sir Christopher Lee will reprise his role as Saruman the White through the use of archival footage from Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Trailers have revealed little about Saruman’s involvement in the plot, but fans of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings novel already know the part that he will play in the story — assuming the film stays true to its source material, of course. According to Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings, Saruman visited Rohan after the war between the Rohirrim and the Dunlendings had concluded. He befriended the newly-crowned Fréaláf Hildeson, the nephew of Helm Hammerhand, and helped the Rohirrim recover from the devastating conflict. In return, Fréaláf convinced the Steward of Gondor to give control of Isengard to Saruman. He hoped that the White Wizard could protect both of their kingdoms should a threat like the Dunlendings rise again. Rohan greatly benefited from Saruman’s aid, but this moment had a dark undercurrent because as fans of The Lord of the Rings know, Saruman was a traitor.

Originally, Saruman was one of the five Istari sent to Middle-earth by the Valar to stem the tide of the Dark Lord Sauron’s power. Saruman always had a selfish and somewhat rebellious personality, and before long, he was overcome with a desire to claim the One Ring for himself. Saruman used the palantír that lay within Isengard to spy on the far corners of Middle-earth and eventually to contact Sauron, with whom he allied. Saruman manipulated the Rohirrim whom he claimed to protect, eventually corrupting King Théoden to the point that he ignored the legions of Orcs running rampant in his kingdom. Once the Free Peoples of Middle-earth had been crushed, Saruman planned to turn against Sauron as well. He was an incredibly dangerous individual who created countless difficulties for the heroes of The Lord of the Rings, which raises a fascinating question: what would have happened to Middle-earth if Saruman had stayed true to his mission instead of turning evil?

Saruman Sabotaged the White Council’s Efforts

Films Including Saruman
Release Year
Director(s)
Actor

The Lord of the Rings
1978
Ralph Bakshi
Fraser Kerr

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2001
Peter Jackson
Sir Christopher Lee

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2002
Peter Jackson
Sir Christopher Lee

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (extended edition only)
2003
Peter Jackson
Sir Christopher Lee

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2012
Peter Jackson
Sir Christopher Lee

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
2014
Peter Jackson
Sir Christopher Lee

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
2024
Kenji Kamiyama
Sir Christopher Lee

The first effect of Saruman remaining good would have been felt long before the events of The Lord of the Rings. Saruman, Gandalf, Galadriel, and Elrond — as well as Círdan the Shipwright in the novel — formed the White Council, a group dedicated to guiding the Free Peoples of Middle-earth in their fight against the forces of evil. In the year T.A. 2850, Gandalf discovered that the Necromancer in Dol Guldur was none other than Sauron. He tried to convince the other members of the White Council to attack Dol Guldur, but Saruman repeatedly delayed them so that he could continue his search for the One Ring in the area. It was not until almost a hundred years later, during Bilbo Baggins’ adventure, that Saruman finally relented. If Saruman had not turned evil, the White Council could have battled Sauron before he had regained so much strength. This most likely would have only delayed the inevitable, as even the members of the White Council could not utterly defeat Sauron without destroying the One Ring. However, a preemptive strike like this may have prevented Sauron from gaining such a strong foothold in the Third Age. If the Dark Lord had always been on the run from the White Council, he would have struggled to rebuild his army and his defenses.

Assuming Sauron still rose to power, how would Saruman’s aid have changed the events of The Lord of the Rings? Saruman possessed a great deal of knowledge about the One Ring, but unless there was a secret way to destroy it other than by throwing it into the fires of Mount Doom, the Fellowship’s quest would have remained the same. However, its members would have had a much easier time journeying across Middle-earth. Since they would not have needed to avoid Isengard, they could have gone through the Gap of Rohan instead of the Mines of Moria to cross the Misty Mountains. In addition to saving them a considerable amount of time, this would have prevented Gandalf’s demise at the hands of the Balrog. However, taking this path would have bypassed Lothlórien, so the Fellowship would not have received helpful gifts from the Galadhrim Elves. The most notable of these gifts was lembas bread, which sustained the weary travelers throughout their entire journey in The Lord of the Rings. The benefits of Saruman remaining good would have become far more apparent as the Fellowship approached Rohan.

Saruman Would Have Been an Invaluable Ally to the Free Peoples of Middle-earth

Regardless of Saruman’s involvement, Boromir probably still would have succumbed to his desire for the One Ring and attacked Frodo, and Frodo and Sam probably still would have decided to continue the journey to Mordor alone. However, the rest of the Fellowship would not have broken like it did in The Lord of the Rings. If not for Saruman’s Uruk-hai, Merry and Pippin would not have been separated from the group, and more importantly, Boromir would have survived. Both Jackson’s film and Tolkien’s novel showed that Boromir felt great remorse over his actions, and Aragorn was a forgiving individual, so surely Boromir would have been allowed back into the Fellowship. Boromir was one of The Lord of the Rings‘ strongest fighters, so his aid would have lent the Fellowship an edge in any future battles.

Though the members of the Fellowship would not have randomly encountered the Rohirrim while chasing Saruman’s Uruk-hai, they might have gone to Rohan for help anyway. In the films, Théoden was initially hesitant to risk the lives of his people to aid Gondor, but this is where Saruman’s cooperation would come in handy once again. He used to have good relations with the Rohirrim, and if he had not turned evil, he still would have by the time of The Lord of the Rings, so he would have been effective at persuading Théoden. There would have been no Battle of Helms Deep since Saruman was the aggressor in The Lord of the Rings. Without the casualties from that battle, the Rohirrim forces at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and the Battle of the Black Gate would have been far stronger, giving them an advantage against Sauron’s forces.

Saruman also could have contributed to the war effort more personally. Though the Free Peoples of Middle-earth might have objected to his more destructive inventions, such as his explosive blasting fire, he could have provided them with strong weapons and armor like those that his Uruk-hai used in The Lord of the Rings. He also could have wielded magic on the battlefield just as Gandalf did. Even a single Istar was a threat to the Nazgûl, so two would have been especially imposing. Yet one of Saruman’s greatest powers had nothing to do with combat. In the novel, Tolkien described that Saruman had a magical voice so persuasive that it bordered on hypnotism. Saruman might have been able to use this to convince Sauron’s minions to stand down or even change sides. Sauron’s domination over the Orcs was so powerful that they likely could have resisted Saruman’s voice. Yet the Men who served Sauron, like the Easterlings and Haradrim, might have proven more susceptible. Saruman could have cut through Sauron’s lies and convinced them that the Dark Lord did not have their best interests at heart. Overall, Saruman’s help would have been a major boon to the Fellowship and the rest of the Free Peoples of Middle-earth, but there would have been some downsides to his continued aid.

Saruman’s Betrayal Accidentally Strengthened the Fellowship

If Saruman had not turned evil, the Fellowship might have lacked a couple of key members. In the novel version of The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf originally planned to pick Frodo up from the Shire and accompany him to Rivendell, but he was unable to do so because Saruman imprisoned him in the tower of Orthanc. Frodo eventually grew fed up with waiting and set out by himself. It was precisely because of this delay and because of Gandalf’s absence that Merry and Pippin decided to tag along with their old friend. If all had gone according to plan, they might have remained in the Shire, and Frodo and Sam would have been the only hobbits in the Fellowship. Merry and Pippin made important contributions to the War of the Ring, such as the former weakening the Witch-king by stabbing him in the leg before Éowyn dealt the killing blow, so their absence would have been deeply felt in The Lord of the Rings.

Even more significantly, Saruman staying good would have prevented Gandalf’s ascension. After the Balrog killed him, Gandalf came back to life more powerful than before, and he inherited the position of the White Wizard from Saruman since he had proven himself unfit to lead the Istari. Saruman’s betrayal inadvertently led to Gandalf becoming the best version of himself, and it is unclear if Gandalf would ever have reached his full potential without Saruman’s evil actions. Those who watch The War of the Rohirrim without knowledge of the rest of The Lord of the Rings franchise may believe that Saruman genuinely wants to help the people of Rohan. But to those familiar with his traitorous character arc, the formation of his alliance with Fréaláf will only create a feeling of dread. The creators of The War of the Rohirrim are likely expecting some familiarity with Saruman, so they might make his evil nature more apparent in the film. It is fun to imagine how The Lord of the Rings would have played out had Saruman not given into his base temptations, but him remaining true to the Istari’s cause was simply not meant to be.