Lord of the Rings' Werewolves of Middle-earth, Explained | CBR

Before the First Age in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Eru Ilúvatar created Valinor and Middle-earth, and everything was perfect. Among the supreme deity's other creations were the primordial beings known as the Valar; their powerful spirits the Maiar, including Gandalf and Saruman; and the Elves.

However, all good things seemingly come to an end, because Morgoth, who was a Vala, turned against the rest in a bid for more power. Intent on subduing everything, he bent many of Eru’s creations to darkness, giving form to some of Middle-earth's iconic monsters, from Balrogs and Orcs to Trolls and, yes, Werewolves.

With his evil, Morgoth created Balrogs, Orcs and Trolls for his fight against the Valar. There was, however, another vile creature: Werewolves. With the help of Sauron, Morgoth corrupted the dogs and wolves of Middle-earth by imprisoning dreadful spirits within their bodies. Of the many Werewolves at the Dark Lords' command, there were two of particular note in The Lord of the Rings lore: Draugluin and Carcharoth.

Draugluin was the first Werewolf made by Morgoth, and, as such, he sired the other Werewolves of Middle-earth. During the First Age, he dwelt with his master Sauron in Tol-in-Gaurhoth (literally, the “Isle of Werewolves”). During the Quest for the Silmaril, Draugluin was slain by the Huan, the Hound of Valinor. After that, Sauron himself took on the form of a wolf, but was also defeated by Huan and Lúthien, and lost control of his fortress.

Afterward, Morgoth decided he needed to create a Werewolf that was powerful enough to kill Huan. So, the original Dark Lord created Carcharoth, fed him the flesh of Elves and Men, and tasked the beast with guarding the Gates of Angband. In an eventual fight between the two, Huan and Carcharoth were both mortally wounded, ending the life of the most infamous Werewolf in all of Middle-earth.

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While wolves and Wargs appeared in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Werewolves did not. So, the question is whether any Werewolves could appear in Amazon’s new Lord of the Rings series.

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Morgoth's machinations occurred during the First Age of Middle-earth, and most of his servants were destroyed or imprisoned during the War of the Powers. However, some of them evaded capture. Notably, Sauron remained all of the way, in one form or another, until the end of the Third Age, when Frodo destroyed his Ring of Power. Gandalf mentioned that Werewolves were among the Dark Lord’s servants, but the beasts did not appear in the written records of Arda after the First Age. While they could have been hidden away somewhere, Sauron was called Lord of Werewolves, so it stands to reason he would have called to them if any still existed in Middle-earth at the time of the War of the Ring.

The Amazon series is set in the Second Age, which began after Morgoth’s defeat during the War of the Powers. So, unless some flashback about Morgoth’s atrocities is shown, Werewolves will likely remain a part of The Lord of the Rings lore that never made it to the screen.

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