Finding references is hard. :(

Middle-earth movieverse: the timeline? by Huinesoron on 2015-04-22 13:37:00 UTC Reply

I've run into a stumbling-block in a story I'm working on, and I need some help...

Does anyone else remember the claims that Peter Jackson had altered the timeline of Middle-earth in the movieverse? I think it centred around the fact that Frodo's 17 years as the Baggins of Bag-End were cut out - but I also have a vague recollection that there was a bit of supporting evidence somewhere. Someone's age was changed, or a date was altered, or... something.

The Hobbit trilogy backs this up, of course, with Legolas being told about a 'young Ranger' named Strider - at least, I hope Aragorn wasn't out a'Ranging at his canonical age of ten (Encyclopedia of Arda also suggests Legolas was told to meet Arathorn - a bit of a trick, since he's eight years dead and buried!). The fact that Aragorn gives his age correctly to Eowyn as 87 means we pretty much have to have a time compression of some sort - but does anyone know, remember, or be-able-to-reconstruct the details?

hS

All I know... by DawnFire on 2015-04-22 15:51:00 UTC Reply

...is that somewhere, possibly on cards or something, Legolas' age was given as Aragorn's birth year (2934, I think?)

You can probably track down a timeline somewhere if you google, maybe on a wiki...most fandoms seem to have them (which can be very useful!)

If Aragorn was a 'young Ranger' at the age of ten, I expect it's just him roleplaying with Elladan and Elrohir humoring him because they either think it's fun or will be good training. Legolas probably just ignored the fact that he was being told about this young Ranger with a lot of smirking and hidden grins...

There's also the bit where book!Frodo is the oldest of the Hobbits and book!Pippin is the youngest, but it's actually reversed with the actors. I don't think that was really addressed in the movies, though; Pippin is certainly still called 'young', and I think I remember Merry saying something about his younger cousin or somesuch...that's all I've got.

I think probably looking for a timeline is your best bet. Someone must have made a movieverse wiki, right?

~DF

Finding references is hard. :( by Huinesoron on 2015-04-22 16:07:00 UTC Reply

I have turned up one article - literally just now - which addresses the whole field:

This piece notes the following:

In the commentary track with Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, the director and writers discuss the shortened time-frame of the film, suggesting that as little as a few months pass before Frodo and Sam leave Bag End for Rivendell rather than the seventeen years indicated by Tolkien.

They speculate that the timelapse was about a year, meaning sixteen years have been chopped out of the middle. That makes Aragorn older at the time of the B5A, and Frodo younger at the time of the War of the Ring. It means that only sixty-one years pass between the two events, rather than the canonical 77.

Which means that it's (just) possible for a normal mortal human to witness both. That's something close to what I'm doing, but not quite.

hS

As far as I remenber... by Edhelistar on 2015-04-22 15:24:00 UTC Reply

There are no dates given for anything. Granted, I haven't seen the extended versions of The Hobbit, where may be more information.

So the options are: Time was compressed, the timeline was slightly changed, or Lord Thranduil has a bad case of bad memory. (I like to think that is the last one because is funnier.)

You are right about there being no dates given. by ratbrainbasher on 2015-04-23 05:18:00 UTC Reply

I'm literally watching The Hobbit right now, halfway through the second movie, in fact, and I haven't heard them give a date for anything. But I tend to be distracted easily, so it's maybe an eighty percent chance I'm right.