An art exhibition of 100 pieces showcases how the artists at Daedalic pulled from book descriptions to create their interpretation of these locales and characters. Coming in at $69.99 (the base edition on all platforms is $59.99), this edition contains goodies that feel ripped straight from the books. For example, the Elvish Kingdom of Mirkwood and Thranduil only popped up in The Hobbit films, and even then neither got much screentime or character building.Ī lot of love for the source material is shown in the recently-announced Precious Edition. It also allows for a deep exploration of locations either mentioned or briefly seen in the films. A search that would bring him face-to-face with Aragorn, Gandalf, Thranduil and the Dark Lord Sauron himself. Mainly, Gollum’s search for The One Ring after Bilbo took it.

While the films needed to squarely focus on the main narrative, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum focuses on elements from the books that the films couldn’t focus on. While Andy Serkis’ interpretation of Gollum and Smeagol will no doubt be seared into fan’s minds forever, a new interpretation based on the novels opens new opportunities that Daedalic appears happy to take. The film rights, however, are held exclusively by Warner Bros., which was why their Middle-earth games could feature likenesses and locations from the films. For example, other in-development projects based on the books include EA and Capital Games’ Heroes of Middle-earth and Free Range Games and North Beach Games’ Return to Moria. Middle-earth Enterprises is the sole holder of the book rights and can license them out to anyone. Part of this is due to how the rights to The Lord of the Rings work. It’s based on the books and the studio is pulling out all the stops to highlight that fact with the game’s Precious Edition. Perhaps that’s what makes Daedalic Entertainment and NACON’s latest game so intriguing: The Lord of the Rings: Gollum isn’t based on the movies.

For many current fans, thinking about characters like Gandalf, Frodo and Smeagol/Gollum conjures visions of Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis’ interpretation of those characters. While various adaptations of the books have been attempted since their release, none are more famous and celebrated than Peter Jackson’s trilogy. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is an extraordinary work of fiction that has spanned multiple generations, selling more than 150 million books worldwide.

Gollum from lord of the rings purpose