Were-worms

Were-worms were creatures that were told in stories of the Hobbits. It was said that the terrible monsters were living in the Last Desert, which could be found in the far east side of the Shire. The creatures were an unknown kind and could possibly be related to Dragons. However, it was greatly believed that they were mythical creatures. If a hobbit declares himself prepared enough to fight were-worms, this was considered a common way of stating that the hobbit is ready to do anything.

The term "were" means male humans in German. When used, it suggests a shape-shifting man such as the werewolf. However, in Middle-earth, the werewolves were not shapeshifters, so the name was believed to refer to the creature's intelligence and size. Because of this interpretation, the were-worms were thought to be a man-like dragon. However, this is still up for debate. Note that the were-worms were only mentioned once in Tolkien's works, so there is almost nothing known about them.

In an early version of The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins mentioned that he might think of fighting a worm in the Last Desert of the East, also known as the Great Desert of Gobi. Incidentally, the legendary Mongolian death worms were said to be found in the Gobi Desert.

The were-worms shown in The Battle of the Five Armies were similar to the Carnictis from the 2005 movie King Kong, which was co-written, produced, and directed by Peter Jackson. In King Kong, the Carnictis is the worm-like creature that devoured Lumpy, the character played by Andy Serkis. In fact, there were scenes in The Hobbit film with several similarities with Jackson's King Kong. One is Thorin landing on Smaug's nostrils during the battle under the mountain.

Which was similar to Ann Darrow's falling to the tip of the Vastatosaurus' jaws while King Kong was fighting the dinosaurs. The Bats of Dol Guldur also looked the same as the giant bats found in Skull Island. In the extended edition of The Battle of the Five Armies, one of the war trolls actually looked like King Kong. However, some fans pointed out that the were-worms in Peter Jackson's film also resembled the Nydus worms from the popular computer game, Starcraft.

Robert Foster, who wrote the book The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, shared that "were-worms" could be misremembered tales of dragons among the Hobbits. To defend this theory, Foster pointed out that dragons used to be called "worms" since the first dragons were wingless. Intelligent wolves that were capable of speech were called "werewolves" during this time. Since the dragons can also speak, this might have caused the Hobbits to call them "were-worms."

John Howe [1] is a known book illustrator who is best known for his work on Tolkien's world. John Hawe's portrait of the Fall of Gondolin shows a giant worm that looked like a centipede. Beside it, was a fire-drake, and several Balrogs.

In this Peter Jackson movie, the were-worms can be seen briefly during the Battle of Five Armies. [2] The tunnels dug by the were-worms appeared when Azog and Ragash inspected the path for their armies. Thorin and Thranduil hears a loud and rumbling noise on the battlefield. Then, were-worms burst through the ground in the area near the hills. They surrounded Erebor then disappeared underground as quickly as they appeared.

The were-worms were digging tunnels for the Dol Guldur Orc army. Gandalf was the one who identified the creatures as were-worms. In the movie, the were-worms looked like giant rainworms with massive jaws, and their skin looked like they were made out of stone. They were not used for combat and did not take part in the battle. Weta Digital, the digital visual effects company that created the special effects, shared that the were-worms in the field had a diameter of 75 feet and had a length of 400 feet.

In this 2003 video game, [3] were-worms were giant and scary worms that reside in underground dens. In the game, Bilbo Baggins encounters a were-worm for the first time during the Troll Hole boss level. In the game, they look like fearsome caterpillars, and they make snarling noises that sound like the snarls of dogs. When Bilbo kills one, another will come forward to take the place of the slain were-worm. The were-worm has a weakness though - they are blind, so Bilbo can sneak around them.

In this video game, [4] you will encounter the were-worms in the expansion, The Desolation of Mordor. Here, the were-worms were called "were-wyrms." They are creatures that inhabited the plain of Lithlad. The worms looked the same as they did in Peter Jackson's film, only that they come in different sizes.

1. ^John Howe - Biography.
2. ^The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014).
3. ^The Hobbit (2003).
4. ^Middle-earth™: Shadow of War™.