With the reveal of some of the major character posters and the hints we have been getting about Amazon’s The Rings of Power, many questions have come up about who else might make an appearance in this era of Middle Earth. Many of our favorite characters, especially the elves, are already around in the Second Age of Middle Earth, which is when the series will be taking place. It makes sense that we will see characters such as Elrond and Galadriel who are apparently going to be in the forefront of the series. But what about characters who are just from the books and not Peter Jackson’s movies? Could they be introduced on screen in this series?

Many have been speculating about the fan-favorite Tom Bombardil. Tom Bombadil appears in a couple of delightful chapters in The Fellowship of the Ring book. He is a free spirit, almost elf-like and yet somewhat human, but probably neither. He lives in the forests near the Shire and the village of Bree, The Old Forest more specifically. He loves to sing silly songs and songs about the history of the world. He and his wife Goldberry care for the forest and are just content with life. One of the most fascinating things about Tom Bombadil is the fact that he can wear the Ring, and it does not make him invisible nor show any signs of evil towards him. To Tom, it is just a trinket. He can even see Frodo when Frodo wears it, making him basically more powerful than Sauron or Gandalf. He helps keep the Hobbits safe before they make it to Bree, saves them from Old Man Willow and the Wights on the Barrow Downs. Peter Jackson decided not to show the character of Tom Bombadil in his movie but instead gave many of his lines to Treebeard.

In the book, Tom Bombadil is depicted as an old man wearing a blue jacket, a hat, and large yellow boots. He also has a pony named Fatty Lumpkin, which is definitely one of Tolkien’s funnier names. He is only in this small part in the books, with one other mention at the Council of Elrond when Elrond, who claims to have known him years ago, says he could potentially take the Ring since it has no effect on him. This is vetoed by Gandalf who brings up the fact that Tom Bombadil’s sense of time does not run like the rest of them. Gandalf is afraid that Tom might forget where he put the Ring, not really remembering the immense power it has on everyone else. He may lose it, but not, of course, on purpose. That is just who he is.

For years, fans of Tolkien’s work have loved the mystery surrounding Tom Bombadil. Tolkien never expressly comes out and says who he is exactly except that he has probably been around ever since the creation of Middle Earth. He and his wife Goldberry neither age nor die. Tom Bombadil is essentially the “land” of Middle Earth, so to speak. It speaks to him, and he speaks to it, and it listens. He commands Old Man Willow who tries to bury the Hobbits beneath his roots (this is changed to Treebeard in Jackson’s films). He is a steward of Middle Earth but also does not get involved in much. Tom tells the Hobbits, “Eldest, that’s what I am…Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn…he knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless – before the Dark Lord came from outside.” That being said, the creators of the Amazon series could choose to put Tom Bombadil in as he would definitely be around during the time of the story.

Due to the pacing of The Lord of the Rings movies, Peter Jackson had to cut Tom Bombadil. Other than adding that the Ring had no effect on him, his story did not really work for a cinematic scene. Many fans have bemoaned this fact because Tom Bombadil might be their most favorite and intriguing character, and they are mad at Jackson for not including him. Others, however, are thankful because Tom Bombadil is not meant for the screen but only for the pages of the book where the true mystery of his character can lie. The question still remains: if Tom Bombadil does make an appearance, how would fans react, and how would the creators of The Rings of Power showcase this mysterious character?

Tom Bombadil has made a way into the cinematic realm of Tolkien in small foreign film adaptions. He is in the 1971 Swedish adaption Sagan om Ringen and is somehow the size of a Hobbit (although Tolkien never explicitly described his size). He is also in the 1991 USSR adaption Khraniteli where he appears as a giant. He is also in the Finnish film Hobitit where he is definitely not the whimsy character he is supposed to be and ends up rather scary. As you can see, the portrayals of Tom Bombadil have not always been true to Tolkien’s character, which could be why some have been hesitant to see him on screen.

However, The Rings of Power does have the opportunity to bring his character to life, if they choose to go in that direction, in a way that no one else has done on screen as of yet. Since Amazon has the rights to the stories in The Lord of the Rings and its appendices, and most of the series is going to be focusing on the Second Age in the appendices, they do have the rights to include Tom Bombadil in the series.

If Tom Bombadil were to be in the series, who could be playing him? There has been a lot of ideas floating around about this, including ones perpetrated by Amazon itself with their teasing secretive actors and the character posters,

TikTok user @donmarshall72 (aka. Obscure Lord of the Rings Facts Guy) has a theory that Joseph Mawle, who is confirmed to be in the series, may play Tom Bombadil. He claims that Mawle is playing a character named Adar in the series, which, according to Tolkien’s lore, is in the name that the elves call Tom Bombadil, “Iarwain Ben-adar” Adar means father in Elvish, and Tom Bombadil is basically Middle Earth’s father. However, this theory may be debunked by a Deadline article, which announced that Mawle would be playing a villain named Oren. This is a new name, and, of course, Tom Bombadil is not a villain. So, the question remains, who is right? @donmarshall72 has been right about the rumored casting for Galadriel and Elrond in the past. Is he correct this time?

In their teaser character posters, Amazon has not revealed who the hands holding the objects belong to. One of these is a pair of dirty hands holding an apple. Some fans think that this is a poster for Tom Bombadil. Amazon did mysteriously confirm that this poster is actor David Weyman who is playing a character known as “The Stranger.” If you look at it, this could very well be Tom Bombadil, and Amazon is just trying to throw us off the scent. There is also another character poster of someone in a blue cloak with a wooden weapon who some have speculated to be Tom. Although, the weapon makes it less likely since he would never hurt anyone in Tolkien’s lore.

Whether or not Tom Bombadil is in The Rings of Power remains to be seen. However, for fans that are holding out hope of seeing this beloved character on screen, there is a good chance they might bring him in, even if it is just for a cameo. We will just have to wait and see!

Source(s): Nerdist

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