{"id":121600,"date":"2026-03-24T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/?p=121600"},"modified":"2026-03-24T06:26:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T11:26:05","slug":"delving-too-deep-panel-provided-rare-look-at-lord-of-the-rings-set-details","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/2026\/03\/24\/121600-delving-too-deep-panel-provided-rare-look-at-lord-of-the-rings-set-details\/","title":{"rendered":"“Delving too Deep” panel provided rare look at Lord of the Rings set details"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Longtime W\u0113t\u0101 Workshop designer Daniel Falconer presented a treasure trove of thoughts, images, and lore to a gathering of MegaCon Tolkien fans in Orlando this past weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Falconer’s presentation was entitled, \u201cWETA: Delving too Deep? A Tolkien Nerd\u2019s Stories Designing for the Lord of the Rings films,\u201d \u2013 but let me tell you, fellow nerds, Falconer delved the PERFECT amount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The panel was the first time that W\u0113t\u0101 Workshop had ever attended MegaCon Orlando, and provided a rare chance for fans of the Lord of the Rings books and movies alike to look at details from the artwork that touched upon all of the history embedded in the appendices of Return of the King.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The design work of these movies has always been some of the most fascinating parts of the production, not just because fans were provided a glimpse behind the scenes via the DVD Extras, but also because it has always been clear that the artists were bent on creating close to the same historic resonances that Tolkien infused into his works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Falconer asked that we not share photos of any of his slides and I will abide with his request, but I\u2019ll attempt to describe some of the fantastic details as best I can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Nine<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For example, one of the opening slides that Falconer showed was an extremely important but not often dwelt upon detail: What did the Nine Rings for Mortal Men actually look like?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Nine actually had two different designs, Falconer said. For the living kings, the rings had a red stone encircled by a spiked crown, and the likeness of each king engraved onto the side of their ring. But the rings changed when they became wraiths, with the design becoming both harsher and simpler. The kings\u2019 engraved likenesses turned from faces to skulls. \u201cBut this change is never seen because the wraiths are too bright to show the detail of their rings,\u201d Falconer concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Details like this just kill me. Get ready for some more\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sting<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Falconer said that he was just thrilled when his design for Sting made it onto the screen. The inscription on the blade was done by David Salo, who wrote out the Elvish for “Sting is my name, and I am the spiders’ bane.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, this caused a bit of a continuity concern for The Hobbit, Falconer said, because Sting would not have the inscription on it BEFORE Bilbo named it Sting. So the design for Sting does not have the inscription when Bilbo finds it. Falconer\u2019s head canon is that Bilbo had the inscription added to the blade during his stay in Rivendell, before Frodo joins him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Glamdring<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Glamdring also caused a few continuity issues, Falconer said, because Gandalf loses his sword and staff at Isengard, but of course he has to have his famous sword for the rest of the films. So the sword that Gandalf carries to Orthanc is a different sword, with a design based on a longsword that John Howe brought with him to New Zealand, with the idea that Gandalf had left Glamdring in the care of Elrond during his trip to visit Saruman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was interesting seeing John talk his way through customs with that longsword,\u201d Falconer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gandalf\u2019s Staffs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It never occurred to me that Gandalf\u2019s staff changes so often during The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Of course it changes when he becomes Gandalf the White, but Falconer revealed just how many times Gandalf has to replace his staff: six!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First is the staff that Gandalf uses to inscribe his initials onto the door of Bilbo\u2019s house. He loses it at some point in The Hobbit movies, and Radagast provides Gandalf with his own staff before the Battle of Five Armies. The staff from Battle of Five Armies gets a few rough pointy bits knocked off before Fellowship of the Ring, and that is what Gandalf uses until he visits Saruman in Orthanc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He loses that staff in Orthanc along with his unnamed \u201cfirst sword,\u201d and another staff is made in Rivendell before they set out on their quest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, Gandalf becomes The White and has a staff that is designed around the shape of flame \u2013 because he bears Narya, the ring of fire. But he loses this when he confronts the Witch King, and has to make himself one more staff before the end of Return of the King. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Wizard Staffs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Falconer showed us the design for the two blue wizards that were initially going to be in the prologue of Fellowship of the Ring, before they were cut. The designs were much more astrological and Eastern looking than the staffs of Gandalf, Radagast, or Saruman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(W\u0113t\u0101, if you\u2019re reading this, a 25th anniversary \u201cConcept Art of The Fellowship of the Ring\u201d book should definitely contain all of these unused bits of concept art. Please!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A Look Around Rivendell<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Falconer then took us through all of the wonderful historic frescos and objects that Elrond (\u201cA pack rat,\u201d Falconer said) kept around Rivendell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sauron\u2019s Missing Ring<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Falconer mentioned that Alan Lee painted the mural of Isildur battling Sauron at The Last Alliance for Fellowship of the Ring, but when the mural was brought back for The Hobbit, someone noticed that Sauron did not actually have the One Ring on his finger \u2013 Alan Lee painted it in just in time for filming it in The Hobbit, but if you look closely at this mural in Fellowship, it\u2019s still missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(As an aside, Falconer said that Rivendell in general had a kind of \u201cElven magic,\u201d very little set continuity, but somehow it all worked.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celebrimbor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celebrimbor the ring-forger is presented in a that shows him forging one of the Three Rings. But another of the murals in Rivendell resembles the ruins of Celebrimbor\u2019s great Second Age city, Ost-in-Edhel in Eregion, which the Fellowship walks through before encountering the Crebain.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI asked Alan Lee whether the painting was of Ost-in-Edhel, and he said, \u2018Could be,\u2019 so I never really had it verified,\u201d Falconer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gil-galad<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elrond also carefully kept and displayed the shield of Gil-galad after his death at the Last Alliance. Gil-galad\u2019s crest, as drawn by Tolkien, shows a number of four-pointed white stars on a field of blue; the artists took inspiration from this and created livery and a shield that mirrored the crest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cElrond also has Gil-galad’s crown on display, but he must not have been thinking too hard about it, because it\u2019s upside down,\u201d Falconer said, showing a picture of Mark Ferguson\u2019s Gil-galad wearing the crown in the other direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aeglos, \u201cSnow-tip\u201d in Sindarin Elvish, the spear of Gil-galad, was designed by Falconer\u2019s colleague at W\u0112T\u0100 whose name I was unable to catch (\u201cIncidentally the best man at my wedding,\u201d Falconer said). The inscription on the blade is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gil-galad wields a well-made spear<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Orc will fear my point of ice<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he sees me, in fear of death<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He will know my name:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aeglos<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aragorn\u2019s hunting knife is made to echo the design of Aeglos, and has a portion of this inscription on it too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arwen (and Idril\u2019s) sword, Hadhafang<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also on display in Rivendell is the sword that was originally designed for Arwen. Here is where my own inner Tolkien geek felt a wash of joy: the sword was designed to be an heirloom from Gondolin, specifically from the princess of that realm, Idril.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the history: Turgon son of Fingolfin was king of Beleriand\u2019s hidden city of Gondolin. His daughter was Idril Celebrindal. She is better known in Lord of the Rings as Elrond\u2019s grandmother, however. She married the human Tuor and had one son, \u00cbarendil, who eventually bore the Silmaril on his airship Vingilot; but before that, \u00cbarendil married Elwing of Doriath and became the dad of Elrond and Elros. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And somehow, Elrond preserved his grandmother\u2019s sword through the third Kinslaying at Sirion, his kidnapping by the sons of F\u00ebanor, the War of Wrath, the drowning of his entire birth country of Beleriand, and finally through a long journey East toward Middle-earth, where he eventually uses it in several battles including the Last Alliance \u2014 before he gives it to his daughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The inscription on the sword reads, \u201cThis blade is called Hadhafang, a noble defense against the enemy throng for a noble lady.\u201d If this inscription was put there by Idril, she had more foresight than just building a secret tunnel out of Gondolin, because \u201cnoble lady\u201d translates directly to the word \u201cAR-WEN.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amazing, learning this detail alone justified my entire con experience!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two figures on a boat<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given that this Rivendell mural displayed TWO figures on a boat instead of ONE figure and a BIRD on a boat, I can assume that this is Idril and Tuor aboard the boat E\u00e4rram\u00eb, off to vanish into the West. I did not get to verify this with Falconer, however.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Scepter of Ann\u00faminas<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why does Aragorn wear a wing\u00e9d helm during his coronation instead of a crown? It\u2019s because there isn\u2019t a crown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elrond keeps the actual indicator of Aragorn\u2019s kingship, the Scepter of Ann\u00faminas, at Rivendell because he\u2019s the keeper of all the important Duneda\u00edn artifacts until there\u2019s a king of unified Gondor and Arnor again. He brings it to Aragorn upon the midsummer wedding of Aragorn and Arwen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elrond\u2019s Telescope<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This detail slew me. \u201cElrond has a telescope because his father is a star,\u201d Falconer said. The telescope was a gorgeous and graceful fall of art nouveau lines, decorated with a small paean to Varda, or Elbereth, the Valar who created the stars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gimli<\/strong> and the Caves of Aglarond<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Falconer showed us concept art of the Caves of Aglarond beneath Helm\u2019s Deep. He said that one of the original endings to Return of the King showed Gimli\u2019s life post-quest, as the lord of Aglarond. The art department created a jeweler\u2019s glass for him to use while at work on the gems of these caves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut we had plenty of endings already,\u201d Falconer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Falconer also showed us details of the Book of Mazarbul from the Mines of Moria, based on Tolkien’s own drawing of the cover. Incidentally, Tolkien wanted his own illustration of it to be in Fellowship of the Ring, but it proved to be too costly for Unwin & Allen to publish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Edoras<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Falconer showed close-ups of the hangings from around Meduseld. The hangings are scenes from the history of the Horse-lords. (If you are at all interested, this history is nicely summarized in Unfinished Tales Part II: Chapter 3.<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I noticed Scatha the Worm fighting Fram, and Eorl the Young pledging his friendship to Cirion the Steward of Gondor, among other moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Knights of Dol Amroth<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We got to see some of the original concept art for the Knights of Dol Amroth. These were not used in the movies, but the banner (a swan and a ship, argent, on a blue field) shows up at the Battle of Pelennor Field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese were some of the first pen-and-ink drawings we did in the days before Photoshop, and we\u2019d all played Dungeons and Dragons, so the designs were straight out of the rulebook from the 80s,\u201d Falconer said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Elves are Art Nouveau, Dwarves are Art Deco”<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You’ve probably seen the meme around the internet that proclaims that the way to tell the difference between the Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles are via their Tolkien race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I asked Falconer if he was aware that W\u0113t\u0101 actually set the agenda for this meme. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I have seen that meme, but for a little while, Elves were going to be Art Deco with lots of angles and points. And even before that, we took inspiration from Moorish design,” Falconer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“So when did the trend toward Art Nouveau begin for the Elves?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Probably when Alan Lee designed those columns.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So there you have it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please return<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There was a lot more to Falconer’s panel — about the continuity of Gollum, different types of Ents, and the shape of the Fell Beasts — but I think I\u2019d better just leave us all wanting to see it again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll get to see everyone from W\u0113t\u0101 over here again soon, right?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Longtime W\u0113t\u0101 Workshop designer Daniel Falconer presented a treasure trove of thoughts, images, and lore to a gathering…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":121601,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Did you know the original inspiration for Elvish design was from Moorish architecture? And that Elves might have looked more Art Deco than Art Nouveau? ","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16,80,14,496,104],"tags":[4420,236,681,2014,516,515],"class_list":["post-121600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events-conventions","category-falconer","category-events","category-production","category-production-weta-workshop","tag-concept-art","tag-daniel-falconer","tag-megacon","tag-the-lord-of-the-rings","tag-weta","tag-weta-workshop"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t