The One Detail Everyone Missed In The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum Teaser
The first teaser trailer was recently released for Daedalic Entertainment's upcoming stealth-adventure game set in Middle Earth, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. The game is set prior to the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which should be exciting for fans who want to know more about the time between that series and The Hobbit. While the teaser doesn't tell fans a whole lot about what to expect from the overall game, it does manage to set a pretty grim tone for the journey ahead. It also features one moment in particular that could be easily missed, but may reference specific points in the titular character's backstory.
The teaser takes fans through the caves that Gollum calls home, eventually showing the titular character crawling out of the side of a mountain. He looks into the distance and sees Mount Doom, the volcano where Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship of the Ring will eventually destroy the One Ring — as well as the place where Gollum will meet his eventual demise. However, fans of the source material will most likely be quite intrigued by the appearance of a series of cave drawings.
The first of the two drawings depicts two stick figures standing on top of a horizontal line. One of the two figures also appears to be holding a stick of their own. There are a few different moments from Gollum's backstory that this drawing may represent, both of which are events that occur in the original novels and the films based on them.
The first possibility is that this drawing represents the day that the One Ring was stolen from Gollum's possession. It could be that the two figures represent Bilbo Baggins and Gollum himself during the events of The Hobbit. In that book, Bilbo and Gollum engage in a battle of wits, telling riddles to one another. The idea behind this game was that Bilbo could go free if he won, but he would be killed and eaten by Gollum if he lost. Eventually, Bilbo managed to outsmart Gollum, escaping with the One Ring, which rendered the crafty hobbit invisible. If this cave drawing depicts Bilbo and Gollum's encounter, then the stick seen in the hand of one of the figures may be Bilbo's dagger, the blade known as Sting.
However, the moment depicted in this drawing may actually take place even further back than the meeting with Bilbo. Long before the events of The Hobbit, Gollum began life as a hobbit named Sméagol. One fateful day, while fishing with his friend Déagol, the pair found the One Ring at the bottom of a lake. They both immediately became charmed by it, but Sméagol murdered his dear friend and kept the ring for himself. He slowly went insane, turning into the monster known as Gollum. It could be that the stick seen in the hand of the drawing is a fishing rod, and that Gollum is still haunted by what he did to his friend all those years ago.
The next drawing appears to be even more foreboding. It depicts another stick figure, but this one is kneeling on the floor with its head bowed low. Above the stick figure is what appears to be a giant red eye radiating beams of light. Fans of the Lord of the Rings franchise may recognize this as the Eye of Sauron, which of course makes another appearance in the trailer. This seems to symbolize that Gollum has already made some kind of a pact with Sauron to retrieve the ring. However, it could be that Gollum has merely decided to go seek Sauron out and hasn't yet contacted the dark lord about his plans. Whatever the case, it's interesting to see that Gollum views himself as a subordinate to Sauron already. That is, if the stick figure in the drawing is really meant to symbolize Gollum himself.
While Gollum has of course appeared in previous Lord of the Rings video game adaptations, this will be the first time that the character has taken the lead role in one. Not much is known about the plot of the game, other than it will tell the story from Gollum's perspective. This should be interesting, as it may portray the villain and his actions in an all-new light. It's also worth noting that the story will apparently follow both Gollum and his alter ego, Sméagol. Switching between the two can impact how the story plays out as players guide Gollum through the land of Middle Earth.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum does not currently have a set release date, but it is expected to launch at some point in 2021.