Why exactly does Middle-earth: Shadow of War include a “sexy” version of the giant spider Shelob? Many Tolkien fans were curious as to the new form given creature, because… well, it sort of speaks for itself. Finally, we have some insight.
In a recent interview with GameSpot, Shadow of War’s lead narrative designer spoke a little bit about their decision to run with a significantly more human version of the famous arachnid character.
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Tony Elias had this to say about all of the talk surrounding the character’s makeover:
“I think people’s sense of who Shelob is is one of the spiders, and we could have done just that, sure. We could have had Shelob appear in great spider form, but she would have had a much smaller role in the game, ultimately. We really wanted to explore this character. We thought there was a lot to explore there, and we could do that with a humanoid representation. We’re not saying she is a woman; maybe she goes back between the two. It’s very clear from the outset that this is a form that she takes when she communications with Talion. It allowed us to do a lot more with the story, it allowed us to use her in a more meaningful way in the story.”
Speaking from a narrative standpoint, that does make sense. Especially when the developer team made it a point to paint her character in a grey area, versus simply plastering her as an enemy or ally. That being said, the move is decidedly out of left field. When asked if they completely abandoned the source material within Tolkien’s work itself, Monolith responded:
“If you look back at Two Towers for example, I think one of the first descriptions of Shelob is an evil thing in spider form. It’s an interesting way to describe this creature: a spider form. Not just a spider, or a great spider. And so it feels like it’s chosen that form, in a way.
Her mother was Ungoliant, who it’s suggested is a Maiar, but this kind of primordial being [who is] all powerful. Shelob is the daughter of Ungoliant. We kind of ran with that idea of a creature that could transform itself, depending on the context – we have done that in the first game with Sauron in fair form. Sauron has his war form and he has his fair form, and Shelob, you could think of the spider as Shelob’s war form, and her fair form she uses when she counsels Talion. She can read the web of fate. We can see her as this kind of dark oracle, a sort of dark Galadriel who can see the future and guide his path.”
Elias also goes on to touch on the history of archaic icons and the illusion of terror in different forms. To read more about Elias’ thoughts and insight into Shelob and her dualistic nature, you can read the full interview here. As far as how the change in artistic direction will affect Shelob’s place in the overall narrative and in the hearts of LotR fans, only time will tell.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War will be available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on October 10th.
