Frodo has the One Ring for a lot longer inThe Lord of the Ringsthan the movies suggest, mostly because the beginning ofThe Fellowship of the Ringis condensed. The timeline inJ.R.R. Tolkien’s booksis clearer. However, those unfamiliar with the source material may not realize how much time is meant to pass between Bilbo leaving the Shire and Frodo departing on his mission to destroythe One Ring. While Frodo still isn’t in possession of it for nearly as long as Bilbo, it may come as a surprise how long it sits in the Shire.
Of course, in Tolkien’s source material, this is less shocking, as Gandalf spends years searching for Gollum after leaving the Ring in Frodo’s care — something theupcoming movie,The Hunt for Gollum, will cover in depth. With this cut fromPeter Jackson’sLord of the Ringsmovies,Frodo’s journey begins much faster. This doesn’t necessarily hurt the narrative; in fact, it flows smoothly in the adaptation. Even so, it does gloss over some key details, and it makes Gandalf’s mission feel less extensive.
Gandalf Sought Out Information During That Time
Frodo has the One Ring for 17 yearsbetween the time he inherits it and when he leaves the Shire. It’s his 33rd birthday when Bilbo departs from Bag End, and Frodo doesn’t leave until he’s 50. Within this timeframe, Frodo keeps the Ring hidden away, just as Gandalf instructs. And Gandalf seeks out further knowledge about the One Ring, a journey that takes him far from the Shire. Given that he travels to other parts of Middle-earth, meets with Aragorn, and searches for Gollum, it’s realistic that Tolkien gives him a longer stretch of time to accomplish everything.
Why Aragorn Was Less Tempted By The Ring Than Boromir In Lord Of The Rings
Aragorn was one of the main heroes of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and was far less tempted by the One Ring than others of the realm of Men.
The Fellowship of the Ringmovie doesn’t specify how much time passes between Gandalf leaving the Ring with Frodo and returning to Bag End, but it doesn’t seem nearly as long. The pacing is sped up for the sake of the film, which jumps directly into Frodo’s story.The amount of time Frodo has the Ring after leaving Bag End appears to be the same, though, with it taking him about six months to reach Mount Doom.
Why The Lord Of The Rings Movies Condensed The Books' Timeline
The Movies Were Already Long & Couldn’t Slow The Pacing
The Lord of the Ringsmovies are lauded for their take on Tolkien’s story, andit makes sense thatThe Fellowship of the Ringtweaks the pacing of the source material. Although Gandalf’s search for information would realistically take more time, it would have felt oddly placed at the beginning of Jackson’s film trilogy. The movies needed to hook viewers and get them invested in Frodo’s journey, and that would have been difficult to do with such a lengthy aside at the very beginning.
TheLord of the Ringsfilms are also lengthy without the elements of the book that were cut, so including a 17-year gap would have made them truly unwieldy.
TheLord of the Ringsfilms are also lengthy without the elements of the book that were cut, so including a 17-year gap would have made them truly unwieldy. Fortunately, Warner Bros. is revisiting this cut timeframe in its own film in 2026, soThe Hunt for Gollumcan fill viewers in on anything they missed from Tolkien’s source material. The upcomingLord of the Ringsfilm is already looking to bring Viggo Mortensen and Sir Ian McKellen back into the fold, so it looks set to faithfully adapt what happens after Gandalf leaves the Ring with Frodo.
