The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrimwill be a fascinating new frontier in the franchise. The last animated entry came out over 40 years ago, and the series has never appeared in an anime style. This could be the beginning of a new wave of adaptations, bringing one of the most notable stories in English literature to life in new and interesting ways. The film will depict several familiar topics along with new characters. The recent trailer showed off the film’s take on a monster called the Watcher in the Water, adding a lot to its preview.
The War of the Rohirrimwill irritate many fans.Shockingly, its translation of a three-page storyfrom an appendix near the very back ofReturn of the Kingtakes a few liberties. A two-hour movie will need a little more source material, so purists will have to tolerate some additions to the canon. On the bright side, the trailer already shows off some critical moments from the story in vivid detail. The future of the franchise could see tons of familiar stories told with new elements.
What is the Watcher in the Water?
The Watcher in the Water is a sea monster that occupies alake just outside of Moria. Most of its backstory is unknown. There are several speculative guesses as to its species and background. The books do clarify that it wound up in its stagnant pool after someone dammed the Sirannon river. Physically, the primary thing anyone would know about the Watcher in the Water from the books is that it has numerous, thin, sinuous tentacles. It has at least 21 tentacles, all of which are strong and nimble. The books don’t offer much of a visual description of the Watcher’s body beyond its tentacles, but Peter Jackson’s film adaptation interprets it as an octopus-like creature. The movies depicted it as a kraken or a giant squid with a large head and a hidden mouth. Many scholars consider the creature a direct reference to variousmythological or in-universe monsters, including the Greek Scylla or Tolkien’s cold-drake. It’s a little vague, but its impact was clear.
The first person to record a sighting of the Watcher in theWater was the Dwarf Balin. The future Lord of Moria encountered the Watcher on his journey into the underground realm. Its small and smelly home sits a few feet from Moria’s western gate. After Balin’s journey inThe Hobbit, he left his home with several allies to reclaim Moria. They succeeded in their quest, but they couldn’t hold Moria for long. Orcs overran the realm after five years. During the siege, Balin’s friend and Gimli’s paternal uncle, Óin, succumbed to the Watcher in the Water. Around 30 years later, the Fellowship of the Ring decided to travel through Moria to avoid the hostile weather in the Misty Mountains. While they approached the western gate, the Watcher in the Water grabbed Frodo and began thrashing him about.Sam managed to cut itstentacle, forcing it to release Frodo. Gandalf quickly ordered his companions into the gate as the Watcher climbed out of the water to pursue them. They escaped into Moria, but the Watcher slammed and sealed the gate shut behind them. After noting the creature’s specific interest in Frodo, Gandalf offered this brief explanation:
Something has crept or been driven out of the dark water under the mountains. There are older and fouler things than orcs in the deep places of the world.
The Watcher in The Water InWar of the Rohirrim
The trailer forTheWar of the Rohirrimdepicts the Watcher in the Water in one scene.The protagonist, Hera, seems to havesome sort of connection with animals. One scene depicts her in a lovely section of the forest. She seemingly gets into conflict with one of the great Mûmakil. The trailer also depicts an attack on Rohan that features Haradrim warriors riding the elephant-like creatures. It’s tough to tell, but the Mûmakil seems to be chasing Hera without a rider. Either way, she seems to escape its clutches by running close to a nearby lake. Suddenly, tentacles launch from the small body of water, wrapping the Mûmakil and dragging it into its clutches. The Watcher in the Water seems to save her from the potential attack. Its body is distinctly different from that of the Watcherin the Peter Jackson films. It might be an entirely different member of the same species, as the location doesn’t make much sense. It’s also technically possible that this is the original Watcher in the Water, long before it wound up in the lake outside of Moria.
The Watcher in the Water demonstrates the unique new aesthetic details that can come out of new interpretations.The War of the Rohirrimwill make a lot of decisions about visual depictions of half-described details fromThe Lord of the Rings.Just as Peter Jacksoncreated so much of the stylistic interpretation of the franchise, new adaptations can continue to iterate upon the original text. The new Watcher in the Water is one of many new aesthetic decisions that could continue to keep the story fresh for generations.
