The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings in Radio, Television, and Film

Summary for The Return of the King 2003

Gandalf the White, Eomer, and King Theoden of Rohan ride to Isengard, where they speak with Saruman. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are reunited with Merry and Pippin. Saruman refuses to help the Free Peoples in their war against Sauron, but Grima throws a Palantir down from Isengard. Pippin recovers it and Gandalf takes the stone from Pippin. Later on, Pippin sneaks a look inside the stone and he meets Sauron, saving Gandalf from what might have been a disastrous encounter. Nonetheless, Gandalf takes Pippin and leaves for Minas Tirith at once.

Theoden leads his people to Dunharrow, where he musters the forces of the Rohirrim in preparation for the coming battles in Gondor. But Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli ride ahead after Aragorn himself confronts Sauron through the Palantir. Aragorn leads the three into the Paths of the Dead, where Aragorn summons the King of the Dead to fulfill his ancient oath to help in the war against Sauron.

Gollum leads Frodo and Sam into a trap soon after a huge army leaves Mordor for an attack on Gondor. Frodo is caught unawares by the huge spider Shelob, who stings Frodo. But Sam takes Frodo's sword Sting (given to him in Rivendell by Bilbo) and wounds Shelob. She retreats, but Sam concludes wrongly that Frodo is dead. So Sam takes the One Ring and attempts to complete the quest.

Frodo is found by Orcs, who take him to the fortress of Cirith Ungol. When Sam learns that Frodo is not dead, he follows the Orcs and rescues Frodo after the Orcs nearly destroy each other in a huge fight over Frodo's mithril armor. Frodo and Sam escape from the fortress and continue their journey into Mordor.

In Minas Tirith, men prepare for the coming war. Denethor, Steward of Gondor, refuses to accept Gandalf's advice. He sends his son Faramir on a suicide attack against the oncoming Mordorian army. Faramir alone survives the battle, and his horse carries him back to Minas Tirith, but he is severely wounded. Denethor goes mad with grief and kills himself.

Gandalf takes command of the city and leads Gondor's desperate defense against Mordor. Even the arrival of the Rohirrim does not turn the tide of battle, though, and all seems lost until Aragorn arrives with the army of the dead. They sweep the field clear of enemies.

Aragorn now takes command of the armies of the West. Elrond comes to him secretly and gives him the reforged Sword of Elendil. With the Sword Reforged in his hand, Aragorn proclaims his right to assume the throne over Gondor. He takes personal command of the army of Gondor and leads an attack on Mordor which is, in truth, only intended to win time for Frodo to reach Mount Doom, where it is hoped he will destroy the One Ring.

As Aragorn's army marches east, Frodo and Sam cross Mordor through the ranks of Sauron's swelling armies. They reach Mount Doom and climb the slopes toward the Sammath Naur, the Cracks of Doom. At the very last, Gollum overtakes Frodo and seizes the Ring, but he tumbles into the fire with the Ring and Sauron is destroyed even as Aragorn fights a desperate battle before the Black Gate of Mordor.

In the aftermath of Sauron's defeat, Frodo and Sam are rescued by Gandalf and the Eagles of the Misty Mountains. They are taken to Gondor, where Aragorn honors them. Arwen arrives to become Queen of Elves and Men, and she and Aragorn are married in Minas Tirith.

In time, Frodo and his companions return to Rivendell and then to the Shire. But Frodo is unable to recover his full health. Though Sam weds his beloved Rosie Cotton and starts a family, Frodo finds no joy in the Shire. He travels to the Grey Havens, where Gandalf and many Elves (including Elrond, Celeborn, and Galadriel) are waiting. They have brought old Bilbo with them. Frodo and Bilbo bid farewell to Sam, Merry, and Pippin, and they take ship with the Elves.

Sam returns to Rosie at Bag End, sits down, and says quietly, "Well, I'm back."

Cast for The Return of the King 2003
Noel Appleby	Everard Proudfoot
Alexandra Astin	Elanor Gamgee
Sean Astin	Sam
David Aston	Gondorian Soldier 3
John Bach	Madril
Sean Bean	Boromir
Cate Blanchett	Galadriel
Orlando Bloom	Legolas
Billy Boyd	Pippin
Sadwyn Brophy	Eldarion
Alistair Browning	Damrod
Marton Csokas	Celeborn
Richard Edge	Gondorian Soldier 1
Jason Fitch	Uruk 2
Bernard Hill	Theoden
Ian Holm	Bilbo
Bruce Hopkins	Gamling
Ian Hughes	Irolas
Lawrence Makoare	Witch King/Gothmog
Ian McKellen	Gandalf
Bret McKenzie	Elf Escort
Sarah McLeod	Rosie Cotton
Maisie McLeod-Riera	Baby Gamgee
Dominic Monaghan	Merry
Viggo Mortensen	Aragorn
John Noble	Denethor
Paul Norell	King of the Dead
Miranda Otto	Eowyn
Bruce Phillips	Grimbold
Shane Rangi	Harad Leader 2
John Rhys-Davies	Gimli
Todd Rippon	Harad Leader 1
Thomas Robins	Deagol
Andy Serkis	Gollum/Smeagol
Harry Sinclair	Isildur
Peter Tait	Shagrat
Joel Tobeck	Orc Lieutenant 1
Liv Tyler	Arwen
Karl Urban	Eomer
Stephen Ure	Gorbag
Hugo Weaving	Elrond
David Wenham	Faramir
Elijah Wood	Frodo
Alan Howard	The Ring (voice)
Sala Baker	Orc/Sauron
Robert Pollock	Orc
Ross Duncan	Orc
Pete Smith	Orc
Jed Brophy	Orc
Lee Hartley	Orc
Billy Jackson	Child
Katie Jackson	Child
Brad Dourif	Grima Wormtongue (extended edition)
Christopher Lee	Saruman (extended edition)
Bruce Spence	The Mouth of Sauron (extended edition)
Peter Jackson	Mercenary On Boat

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