After he and his family are slaughtered by the Black Hand of Sauron, Talion — Captain of the Gondor Watch — bonds his spirit with that of the great Elven smith Celebrimbor. This miraculous event allows Talion to return to Middle Earth as an undying spirit of vengeance newly equipped with a powerful set of wraith abilities, to exact his bloody revenge on the servants of Sauron for murdering his wife and son.
The central conceit of immortality that comes with Talion’s gift (or curse) of infinite regeneration, gives the game an addictive,Edge of Tomorrow-style gameplay-loop, that meldsBatman: Arkham Asylum-style combat, withAssassin’s Creed-inspired traversal and stealth. InMiddle Earth:Shadow of Mordor, death at the hands of the enemy, is never really the end for Talion, aka, the Gravewalker. Developed by Monolith Productions,Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordorand its stellar sequel,Middle Earth:Shadow of Warwere celebrated in their time for being a familiar yet boundary-pushing breath-of-fresh-air in the action-adventure genre. But most of all, theShadowgames were acclaimed for their single-most significant addition to the genre and gaming in general;the Nemesis system.
The Nemesis system, is essentially an emergent storytelling gameplay system where all the player’s (thus Talion’s) interactions with the numerous servants of Sauron that they face, will have a a direct effect on all future encounters with them. This core gameplay mechanic puts Talion in contact with a host of colorful characters across the wastelands of Mordor. This structure could be a perfect template for a multitude of storytelling opportunities, such as a multi-season TV arc following Talion as he makes his violent ascension up the ranks of Sauron’s army. TheShadow of Mordorgames introduce a host of compelling elements that any future Middle Earth stories could draw inspiration from, including:
The Nemesis system, the Sea of Nurnen, the Black Hand of Sauron, wraith abilities, unique orc personalities etc. — all of these concepts would be welcome additions to a new narrative set in the world of Middle-earth.
The Nemesis System
The Nemesis system in the context of a movie or TV show, might just feel like a basic component of dramatic storytelling structure. After all, a TV show or a movie can’t achieve the same feeling of agency that a third-person action-adventure video game likeShadow of Mordorintrinsically can. The dynamic, truly unpredictable stories that it engenders are unique to the medium of games and remain unique within the action-adventure genre. The nemesis system does a great job of naturally familiarizing the player with the hierarchy within the chain of command of the armies of Mordor. If any future adaptation could make the audience effectively understand the inner workings of Mordor’s power structure, it would provide an excellent framework for a TV show or movie.
One intriguing mechanic of the Nemesis system is Talion’s ability to plant spies in Sauron’s army. Once Talion has his enemy neutralized, he can use his wraith abilities to terrify, dominate, or gather intel on his foe, rather than simply killing them. This allows him to sew seeds of chaos among the dark lord’s ranks, which could potentially lead to some juicy and hilarious double-crossing storylines in live-action.
But the interpersonal dramatic tension that the nemesis system provides, is the core of what future Lord of the Rings adaptations should take as inspiration from theShadow of Mordorgames. The spirit of the nemesis system could be translated to fantastic effect in a live-action context. If done correctly, it would create an unprecedented level of personalization and humanization for Middle-earth’s central boots-on-the-ground antagonists; Orcs. So, like in the game when Talion finally manages to defeat a particularly mouthy Uruk who has sent him to the grave multiple times, and mocked him mercilessly as he did so, the audience/the player feels Talion’s (or another character’s) catharsis vicariously, because they’ve been with him the whole time.
An Enemy You Know
Peter Jackson’sLord of the Ringstrilogy did have a few moments of violent catharsis. Lurtz is the name of the Uruk-hai scout team leader who kills Boromir pitilessly during the climax ofLord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. It takes a torso jabbing, leg-knifing, and limb-slicing that gives the Black Knight fromMonty Python and the Holy Graila run for his money, in addition to a seamless decapitation from Aragorn’s sword Andúril, all to finally take him down. The skills Jackson honed as an independent horror filmmaker are put to incredible use in any moments of extreme violence that occur in his original trilogy (not so much in The Hobbit, sadly). Lurtz’s face-off with Aragorn is everything you’d want it to be; scary, visceral, badass, funny, and cathartic. The final head slice is a stand-up-and-cheer moment in the theater. This moment is thrilling because we as the audience are so personally invested in seeing Aragorn dispatch this snarling villain to orc heaven. This feeling is what the Nemesis system inherently provides. But the key to creating that same burning desire in the audience is the menacing, physically imposing performance given by actor/stuntperson Lawrence Makoare as Lurtz. In this instance, an actor’s performance, combined with outstanding makeup and costuming, adds immensely to the gravitas of Lurtz’s presence in the story, elevating him beyond his basic function as a mindless agent of death for Saruman.
In order for Orcs to be characters in their own right, they have to be distinguishable from one another. This is something that theShadow of Mordorgames absolutely nail. Currently,Lord of the Rings:Rings of Poweris doing its best to explore the ambiguity of Orcs. Adar is a genuine father figure to the orcs on the show, and the cold open of Season two in which Sauron fails to convince them to follow him, proves that the Orcs are not simply a mindless monolith of evil, who will readily follow any figure who declares themselves a dark lord. ButShadow of Mordorhas fully-fleshed individual orc characters, who the player will undoubtedly remember. The games manage to put a human (almost) face to the bestial mob of savages that orcs are traditionally portrayed as in the vast majority of Tolkien adaptations.
There are a handful of stand-out Uruks in Jackson’s two live-action trilogies; Azog the Defiler from the Hobbit, the Uruk-hai captain Lurtz, Gothmog the lieutenant of Morgul fromThe Return of the King, and who could forget that one orc inThe Two Towerswho bravely poses the immortal question, “Yeah, why can’t we have some meats?!”? Fans might remember these individual orcs' faces, but none of them were as slimy and duplicitous, yet oddly sympathetic as Ratbag from Shadow of Mordor, or as consistently funny as The Agonizer from Shadow of War is. Orcs in theShadow of Mordorgames can be sassy, brutal, cunning, unpredictable, and personal in their taunts. Nearly every Orc Talion encounters has a wild, guttural, Peaky Blinders-esque accent, delivered with gnash-toothed arrogance by the games' uniformly excellent voice cast. The key to creating a three-dimensional and memorable orc character, is casting a great actor who can bring the texture of that individual, Uruk’s personality, to life.
TheWarcraftmovie did a decent job of dimensionalizing orcs, but that story takes place in a vastly different world, whose mythology never cast orcs in as broadly an evil light as a species, the way that Tolkien categorically did. But just because Tolkien’s orcs are essentially evil, doesn’t mean they can’t be interesting characters with unique agendas, appearances, eccentricities, interests, skills, and differing personal outlooks on the world.
All the Pieces Matter
The twoShadow of Mordorgames both brought many bold and original ideas into the Lord of the Rings franchise. For instance, a concept like Talion’s using his wraith abilities to mind-control Wargs, Caragors, and Trolls, as well as Orcs, may seem a bit too video-gamey, cartoonish, or simply overpowered to make sense in any self-respecting live-action adaptation of Tolkien. But keep in mind that there was a literal undead ghost army that swarmed a giant Oliphaunt to the ground like a horde of locusts in Jackon’sThe Lord of the Rings: TheReturn of the King, and that film won best picture at the Academy awards. So let’s just have some fun, shall we?
A live action series or movie could showcase Talion’sAssassin’s Creed-influenced combat, traversal, and stealth mechanics on screen. We have gotten a taste of genuinely acrobatic combat in Middle-earth, predominantly through the battlefield exploits of Elven warriors like Legolas, Tauriel, and most recently, Arondir and Galadriel inThe Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power. However, any adaptation that can capture Talion’s particular mixture of speed, agility, and wanton brutality on screen would bring something truly exciting and novel to the world of live-action Lord of the Rings combat.
Here are a few simple visuals flourishes from theShadow of Mordorgames that could easily be ported over into a new live-action Tolkien story:
Like Boromir, Talion is a fundamentally ambiguous character. While undoubtedly brave and deeply devoted to his family, Talion’s decision to forge another Ring of Power at the end ofShadow of Mordoris a deeply morally questionable choice that significantly affects the events ofShadow of War. When Talion walks into an orc encampment inShadow of Mordor, and one of the orcs yells out, “It’s the grave walker!” Talion feels less like a heroic avenger and more like the Boogeyman of Middle Earth. By the end ofShadow of War, after he has seized control over the majority of Sauron’s forces, it becomes difficult to distinguish between Talion and the dark lord of Mordor himself. Those who have completedShadow of War, know how Talion’s fate ties in, rather darkly, to the ultimate fate of Middle Earth during the events of The Lord of the Rings.
Whether Talion is truly a force for the greater good in Middle Earth, or simply a living embodiment of vengeance, hell-bent on destruction at all costs, is a captivating moral conundrum, and one that has scarcely been seen in a major Tolkein adaptation. Both games' approach to Tolkien’s is admirable in its balance of ambition and restraint. The narrative across both games successfully blends a mélange of established lore with original content that all feels at home within the internal logic of Tolkien’s fantasy world.
Middle-earth’s history is vast, and any creators who are lucky enough to be given the reins to such a foundational and massive franchise must feel a little paralyzed. There are so many driections a show or a movie could go in, and almost all of them have potential pitfalls if the adaptation is not handled with the right balance of tone, scale, and creative innovation. However, there are still many worthwhile stories left to be told in this universe, that could add vital lore and a fresh sense of style to the established canon outside of Jackson’s trilogies and the books themselves. TheShadow of Mordorgames didn’t just break the mold in the action-adventure gaming genre through its ingenious invention of the nemesis system, they also managed to tell an original story of its own that fit seamlessly into Tolkien’s established timeline for the third age of Middle Earth. Now released over a decade ago now,Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordorhas still yet to be mined for the bounty of storytelling potential that it possesses.
