The Lord of the Rings Star Recalls Hilarious Encounter With Fan Pointing Out a Plot "Anomaly"

Few fantasy worlds are as beloved as J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings series, which means the film based upon those stories are equally adored, as this series has introduced audiences to a variety of majestic and magical characters and creatures. Despite those fantastical worlds, not all audiences could suspend their disbelief in the series, as star Sean Astin recently recalled an encounter he had with a fan in which they pointed out a scene that seemingly contradicted the lore of the universe as introduced by Tolkien and was reflected in not only those books, but also his The Hobbit. Director Peter Jackson would also go on to reflect the appropriate mythology in his The Hobbit films.

"It's funny how, after a week of it, you're just used to it. You're just like, 'Oh yeah, of course, we're in another thing, we're in another thing,'" Astin recalled to ScreenRant of doing public appearances for the franchise. "But we jump in the limo and there's this guy knocking on the window because people were always like ... It was like a Beatles movie, they were always chasing after you. It was crazy. But this guy, he was dressed fancy. So I rolled the window down a little bit, and he puts an envelope through the thing, and he is like, 'Hi, I'm Dr. So-and-so.' He's like, 'I have to tell Peter Jackson that there's a mistake, or there's an anomaly,' or something like that."

He continued, "When the cave troll comes into Balin's Tomb, and it's really the first time the Fellowship sets up as a group, and we're fighting him. I'm using pots and pans on orcs, and Elijah's [Wood] got the mithril vest to stave off the orc, or the whatever, the cave troll stabs him with the spear. Well, Balin's Tomb, the dwarf is lit by a ray of sunlight, and the cave troll passes through it. Well, if you know The Hobbit, when trolls encounter sunlight, they turn to stone. This cardiologist had identified this seam in the universe, in the mythology where we had made this mistake. I just remember thinking, 'I don't think we can redo it now, man.'"

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the film, though it's unclear if Astin ever pointed out this narrative contradiction to Jackson over the years.

Amazon Studios is currently developing a TV series inspired by The Lord of the Rings franchise. Stay tuned for details on the franchise's future.

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