There were originally plans for a fight scene to occur near the border of Lothlórien, which would have seen Haldir and his fellow Elven archers help the Fellowship fend off a band of Orcs.

"You want to see how the world's changing," Arty Papageorgiou, who wrote The War of the Rohirrim with Phoebe Gittins, told Mashable of the orcs' inclusion. "That darkness is starting to creep in ...

Questions surrounding Orc origins and redemption remain open-ended ... as the story would not have been as epic or resonant if it chose easy solutions rather than emphasizing the struggle and ...