The Necromancer Storyline in The Hobbit Film Sequel- Storyscape

The Necromancer and White Council Storyline

Dol Guldur   The Necromancer's domain
Dol Guldur, by Joe Russell

The Necromancer storyline forms a strong link between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings and will likely be a major part of the Bridge Film plot. The storyline weaves The Hobbit tale into the wider war against Sauron. It features Gandalf’s foray into the Necromancer’s tower and dramatic battle at Dol Guldur, both of which would be spectacular scenes in a fantasy epic film.

There are a number of challenges however in turning this story thread into an engaging film plot. Furthermore it is likely that the political intrigue and strategy of the Necromancer storyline will be need to be augmented with more personal and emotional story threads for a well rounded and entertaining film.

The Necromancer Storyline in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings

Halfway through The Hobbit story Gandalf departs Thorin and Bilbo’s company to pursue his ‘pressing business’ to the south. This business is the threat of the Necromancer, a dark sorcerer that dwells in the tower of Dol Guldur at the southern reaches of Mirkwood.

At the start of The Hobbit Gandalf describes how he secretly entered the dreaded dungeons of the Necromancer nearly a century before and found Thorin’s father Thrain imprisoned there. Thrain had been tormented to madness, but Gandalf managed to recover his Erebor map and key from him. A hundred years later at Bag End Gandalf gives these to Thorin to kick-start The Hobbit adventure. The next mention of the Necromancer comes at the end of The Hobbit story we learn that while Bilbo and the dwarves were tackling the dragon, the White Council drove the Necromancer out of Mirkwood.

When writing Lord of the Rings, Tolkien wove the Necromancer story into the much larger tale of the rise of Sauron (as described in the Appendices). The Necromancer became the early guise of the dark lord Sauron, and Tolkien explains Gandalf’s actions in the wider context of the War of the Ring.

During Gandalf’s mission into Dol Guldur he learns that the Necromancer is Sauron returned (as indicated by the seizure of Thrain’s ring of power). Gandalf later urges the White Council (a gathering of the wise led by Saruman) to attack Dol Guldur before Sauron has enough strength to regain power in the north, and threaten the elven strongholds. Saruman overrules him and the Council do not act. Saruman’s overruling is due to his treacherous desire to have the One Ring for himself and he hopes that Sauron’s return at Dol Guldur will cause the ring to reveal itself.

This stalling by the White Council motivates Gandalf to form the Quest for Erebor. Gandalf encourages Thorin to retake the Lonely Mountain, as renewing the dwarven kingdom would weaken Sauron’s position in the north and prevent a possible alliance between the dragon and Sauron. In the same year as Bilbo and the dwarves travel to Erebor, Saruman concedes to Gandalf’s will at the White Council and they attack Dol Guldur. Anticipating this attack, Sauron flees to his ancient dwelling of Mordor to gather his strength.

Inconsistencies with the Necromancer Storyline

Tolkien did not write Lord of the Rings with a grand master-plan to bring all his stories together. His writing ‘grew in the telling’ and the Quest for Erebor somewhat belies a retrospective attempt to integrate The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.

The Hobbit takes place in a more innocent world without a dark lord, and where Bilbo’s ring is a magical boon to aid in his quest. If in the course of The Hobbit quest Sauron was dwelling in Mirkwood all along, then Bilbo’s extensive use of the ring in Mirkwood would have been very dangerous. More significantly Gandalf is left looking foolish regarding his delay in identifying Bilbo’s ring as the One Ring, as he has known of Sauron’s rise in Dol Guldur and gathering of the rings of power for a hundred years.

The links between events in Tolkien’s timeline are somewhat vague. How does Saruman trick the wise Elrond and Galadriel into refusing Gandalf’s demands to attack Dol Guldur? Furthermore what has changed at the second White Council meeting to explain the shift to supporting Gandalf? Tolkien mentions that Sauron’s shadow had grown but gives no more detail than this. The main change is that Saruman has realised that Sauron is searching the Gladden Fields for the One Ring and Saruman fears he may find it. But Saruman cannot tell the White Council this as he would reveal his treachery, so he must have another explanation for his change of view.

These gaps and inconsistencies could be smoothed over with good screenwriting, yet generally they reveal that Tolkien’s attempt to integrate The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings is not entirely successful. The plot of the simultaneous Hobbit quest and Dol Guldur attack has a few problems, and perhaps creating a greater distance between the two stories would be advisable.

The Necromancer Storyline as a Film Plot

The Necromancer storyline has several aspects ideal for a fantasy epic film- we have the dramatic intrigue of the rise of Sauron, the new location of Dol Guldur to explore and spectacular scenes with Gandalf’s subterfuge and the attack on Dol Guldur. But in terms of creating a story arc there are several challenges in using the Necromancer storyline for the film.

Ideally we would have a clear focus for the film plot and goal to be achieved. ‘Who is the mysterious Necromancer?’ is an obvious plot, but doesn’t really work as Gandalf identifies the Necromancer as Sauron a hundred years before The Hobbit begins. The thrust of the story could instead be ‘How can Gandalf convince the White Council to attack Sauron?’, but (as described above) we don’t have detailed events that cause the White Council to changes their mind at the second meeting. Perhaps this change is because Smaug has been roused by Bilbo and the dwarves, or that the orcs have left the Misty Mountains for the Battle of the Five Armies, but It would be awkward to rely on events that are told in The Hobbit story as critical parts of the Bridge Film plot.

The rivalry between Gandalf and Saruman (a highlight in the Fellowship of the Ring film) is another plot possibility. Saruman’s deceit is central to the activities at the White Council. The difficulty with this idea is that Gandalf has no inkling of Saruman’s treachery at the start of Fellowship of the Ring. So Gandalf cannot realise Saruman’s deceit within the Bridge Film, and this plotline cannot reach a resolution.

Overall while we have some dramatic scenes for the Bridge Film from the Necromancer storyline, we do not have a strong and clear story arc for the film. Saruman is the decisive character on the White Council but we really need Gandalf to be active if we are to follow him in the story. We are somewhat constrained as Gandalf cannot discover Saruman’s deceit. Gandalf’s main active role occurs during his first visit to Dol Guldur.

Push the timeline forward?

A possible option to strengthen the story arc would be to push the Necromancer events forward in time to happen after The Hobbit quest. It would be possible in this case to make the identity of the Necromancer unknown, and the Bridge Film storyline then becomes the quest to discover the identity of the Necromancer.

One option is that Gandalf’s early venture into Dol Guldur fails to identify the Necromancer as Sauron, and so a second visit to Dol Guldur in the Bridge Film is required (a bit unconvincing since the seizing of Thrain’s ring indicates the presence of Sauron). Or a second option is that the entire exploration of Dol Guldur could be moved forward to occur after The Hobbit. At the start of the Bridge Film Gandalf would learn that a shadow grows in Mirkwood (with links to events in The Hobbit) and would then discover Dol Guldur and secretly enter. Thrain’s body would lie within the dungeons, and the evidence of the forced removal of his ring would still be there. (This idea would mean Gandalf could not possess Thrain’s map before the Hobbit, so Thrain and Thorin’s companion Balin would have to be the bearer of the map).

The advantages of changing the timeline are that we have a more distinct Bridge Film plot that flows smoothly on from The Hobbit, with no need for flashbacks. Most importantly the story arc becomes clearer and stronger with Gandalf as the active character. It also allows Aragorn to accompany Gandalf on his mission into Dol Guldur (potentially Legolas also). These ideas add up to a significant departure from Tolkien, but do provide several advantages in delivering a satisfying story arc for the Bridge Film.

Where are The Hobbits?

The political power struggles of the Necromancer storyline form a framework for the Bridge Film story rather than creating a well rounded film in their own right. We have no real emotional journey or romantic storyline to experience. Gandalf’s mystique comes from his role as a catalyst rather than a protagonist, as he works better alongside more sympathetic characters as opposed to starring on his own. The filmmakers will be looking to bring in more human relationships, light-hearted scenes and romantic storylines to the film for wider appeal. This is the subject of the next section on Bilbo and Aragorn.

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