The Scouring of The Shire - Adaptations

Adaptations

The events of "The Scouring of the Shire" do not occur in any film adaptation of the novel to date. It is not featured in the 1980 animated version of The Return of the King and only barely referenced in the 2000s Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

The 1981 BBC The Lord of the Rings radio play has "The Scouring of the Shire" story included along with the Shire homeland taken over by ruffians, like the book Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin does rally up the Hobbits to fight against the ruffians in which the Hobbits won The Battle of Bywater and includes the original showdown and ending of Saruman who dies by Wormtongues knife and Wormtongue who gets killed by arrows in the Shire, also it tells about the murder of Lotho and Lobelia who gives Frodo and Sam back his home and money to help out the Hobbits and she later dies of old age. Then Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin and the Hobbits clean up the shire and restore it back to normal. This is included in the last episode 13 The Grey Havens. It is the only radio adaptation to include the story of "The Scouring of the Shire" from the book. The BBC radio play is available on cassette, and on CD.

In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, part of the latter trilogy, the Mirror of Galadriel does foretell the Ruffians taking over the Shire as in the novel, but Galadriel tells Frodo that this is a glimpse of the future only if he should fail in his quest. Consequently, when the hobbits return home in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the Shire is unchanged. In the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Wormtongue stabs Saruman to death (in the back, not across the neck) and is in turn killed with bow and arrow as in the novel; however this takes place at Isengard instead of the Shire and it is Legolas who shoots Wormtongue.