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Does it ever bug you when a movie changes something from the book?

It’s even worse when you’re an actor in the film, and the change takes away one of your character’s moments.

That’s the case for Dominic Monaghan, who played Merry in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. During an appearance at Liverpool Comic Con 2024, Monaghan was asked about his least favorite change the LOTR movies made. The actor immediately recounted a scene from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

“It always slightly frustrated me. In the books, when Gandalf is struggling to open the doors to Moria, it’s Merry who solves that riddle for him. I was on set, a 24-year-old young man, and Peter [Jackson] and Fran [Walsh] are very smart and very shrewd people. Fran could always make me do anything, because she’s a beautiful Elvin princess.

"She came over to me and said, ‘Dom, we’re thinking of giving that moment to Frodo.’ And I just went, ‘Oh. Why?’ And Fran said, ‘Well we’re trying to establish this stronger connection between Frodo and Gandalf before there is kind of a break between everyone. We’ll find something else for you.’ You’re not in a position to say yes or no anyway, but I’m kind of thinking, ‘I don’t have a lot to do in these films. Elijiah has kind of a bit more.’ So, I didn’t really agree with that.”

While Monaghan wishes it had gone another way, his tone was amused disappointment rather than anger. He made it clear that he harbors no ill will towards his costar Elijiah Wood, who was sitting with him during the panel.

Monaghan loves the way Peter Jackson’s LOTR trilogy turned out….he just wishes it was more like the books. 

Whether you're Shirefolk, Elven, Dwarven, or something else, there's a good reason to love Lord of the Rings. We do! With that in mind, we have a dragon's horde of goodies for you from a Lord of the Rings reading guide, a Lord of the Rings watch guide, details on the upcoming animated film Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim, a full the Lord of the Rings reunion panel you can watch, how the OG Hobbit actors stay in touch every day on a groupchat, and the true message of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, according to Gimli himself - John Rhys-Davies.