Was Sauron Involved in the Battle of Five Armies?

Q: Was Sauron Involved in the Battle of Five Armies?

ANSWER: In The Hobbit, Sauron never appeared in any scene of the story, and he was only alluded to as the Necromancer of southern Mirkwood, a mysterious sorceror whose evil dungeons were a place of great dread. According to recent reports circulating on the Internet, actor Benedict Cumberbatch has reportedly disclosed that he will provide the voice of Sauron for the Battle of Five Armies in Peter Jackson’s film adaption of The Hobbit.

In the book Bolg of the North led the Hobbit and Warg armies in battle against the Elves, Dwarves, and Men defending the valley of Dale and Mount Erebor. Bolg was the son of Azog, who slew Thror the grand-father of Thorin Oakenshield; Dain Ironfoot, Thorin’s cousin (and grand-nephew of Thror) in turn slew Azog. According to the listings at IMDB (which at this time may be incomplete or incorrect) for the first movie and the second movie, no actor has been cast for the role of Bolg. Hence, fans have already concluded that Peter Jackson has written Bolg out of the history of the cinematic version of Middle-earth.

Sauron is only listed in the credits for the second movie, so media speculation that the Battle of Five Armies will be the climax for the first film may be incorrect. It may in fact make more sense to end the first movie either with the death of Smaug or the Dwarves’ escape from Thranduil’s dungeons. Lee Pace, who has been cast as Thranduil, appears in both cast lists — as does Orlando Bloom, who will be reprising his role as Legolas in “The Hobbit”.

Most people seem to agree that it’s impossible to derive enough story from The Hobbit to make two films, and Peter Jackson has expressed his desire to create a bridge between the “Hobbit” movies and his “Lord of the Rings” films. Legally he can work only with the material that was published in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but that includes the information provided in the appendices. Hence, it seems there will be some flashback scenes to the days of Thror in Erebor, and perhaps also to the First Age of Middle-earth (for it seems that actor Robin Kerr has been cast as Elrond’s brother Elros).

The storyline will undoubtedly follow the basic plot of The Hobbit, having Gandalf bring Bilbo together with the Dwarves at Bag End (we have confirmation of this from the trailer), following them along the road to Rivendell — along which they will encounter the three trolls and Bilbo will acquire Sting as his sword. Thorin and Company will then stop at Rivendell.

Based on other casting information provided by IMDB and the trailer, it seems reasonable to infer that Bilbo and the Dwarves will enter the Misty Mountains as in the book, be captured by Goblins, be freed by Gandalf, Bilbo will find the Ring and meet Gollum, and then they will flee the mountains to Beorn. From Beorn’s homestead they will probably enter Mirkwood.

At this juncture the first film may branch off and follow Gandalf for a time. Sylvester McCoy appears in the credits for the first movie, and he will play Radagast the Brown, one of the Istari and possibly also a member of the White Council. Cate Blanchett is also in the cast. Unfortunately Celeborn is not mentioned in either movie; he would be a good candidate for the White Council, in my opinion. Saruman also appears in the cast list.

Luke Evans is listed in both cast lists. That could mean, therefore, that he will appear at the end of the first movie (perhaps Bilbo and the Dwarves will reach Lake-town in the first movie). For now I think we’ll just have to wait and see what else is disclosed about the movies before figuring out the plot. After all, it could be that Peter will combine the Battle of Five Armies with the White Council’s move against the Necromancer (which might make for a less confusing storyline).

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