When it comes to page-to-screen adaptations, you can’t do much better than Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. The director’s approach to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien is considered thematically and narratively perfect — and for good reason — but Jackson did have to take some creative liberties with Tolkien’s three novels. The Lord of the Rings is an epic adventure, and not every element of the story could fit into three feature-length films. Every omission and change served the trilogy well, but there was one in particular that, even 20-plus years later, felt like a missed opportunity.
