What’s this talk about nude hobbits? No, you are currently not in those dark corners of the internet where legend has it you can find such a thing! Lately, though there’s been a lot of fuss amongst the Lord of the Rings fan base regarding the topic. The shortest characters in the book multiverse may be featured in their “most vulnerable” state.
It turns out that some “nude hobbits” scenes may have been considered as a part of the original film franchise. The idea hasn’t been thrown out entirely to this day!
How Did We Get Here?
Mike Walen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Last night Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan, who played hobbits Peregrin “Pippin” Took and Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuc respectively, went on with Stephen Colbert. The interview would’ve been nothing more than a footnote. Except for the fact that the two started revealing secrets from their time on the set of Peter Jackson’s Lord of The Rings movies.
The duo revealed that originally there was a scene written in the script where the two would be naked. Boyd described the scene saying,
“‘When Merry and Pippin are up Treebeard, he gets afraid and shakes his branches, which makes you guys fall … and as you hit all the branches on the way down, by the time you hit the ground, you’re naked.”
The Two Where On Board With The Idea
Boyd and Monaghan recalled that they called each other when they first read the script. Both of them were surprised that they would be doing a nude scene. They both told Colbert though that they would have been on board with the scene. Monaghan in fact was looking forward to the scene to be able to show off his backside. He told Stephen Colbert,
“I have a really fantastic a–, I thought, now is the time to get it out.”
Not Everyone Is OK With The Nude Hobbits Idea
Even though we didn’t get to see a nude hobbit scene in the first three films there’s still a chance it may happen. There’s an upcoming Amazon series based on the Lord of the Rings in production. It had been rumored that the actors that were cast onto the project had signed knowing that nudity scenes would be a possibility.
Apparently, this is not something that at least a part of the LOTR fan base has taken well. There’s currently a petition on Change.org that is literally aimed at trying to stop the show’s creators from adding nude scenes.
These Guys Are Probably Hinting At Something
These days it’s not that uncommon for random actors to go on TV or other outlets and talk about nudity. However, in this case, it does seem rather deliberate that Boyd brought up the issue. Both Boyd and Monaghan are signed on to reprise their roles in the new Amazon series.
If there’s a way to bet on plot points for the upcoming series it would seem like a safe bet that we’ll be seeing some type of nudity or sexual theme in the relationship of hobbits Merry and Pippin. Hollywood is becoming very predictable!
