Bombadil, Arwen, and Legolas
Vaelyn

Now that we have seen the theatrical trailer, I (for one) can breath a deep sigh of relief that this whole Arwen mess may, at least in part, be ditched. The flyby of the fellowship, perhaps passing through the Redhorn, shows that Arwen is nonexistent amongst them. I am now quite sure that the only part she will play in the films wherein her role is expanded may perhaps be in illustrating her relations with Aragorn--something which Tolkien has already written and which IS in the trilogy (I'm fairly sure it's at least briefly dealt with in an appendix).

As for Legolas, I'm sure all of our conceptions of him are quite different. I must admit I thought he'd be a bit more bright (though not several F-stops brighter, as in Bakshi's rendition, heh heh). That is, I thought he would be a bit more ethereal, or, perhaps I should say, a bit less grungy. Well, only time will tell.

As for Bombadil... The more I think upon it, the more I rue that this section of the trilogy is cut. Much of what Tom Bombadil adds to the Fellowship's plot is now taken from that of the movie, and that is a sore loss. No longer do we have presented the intrigue of Tom's origins and being, nor shall we see anything truly ethereal in nature until Rivendell is reached-aside, that is, from the rather darkly morbid Nazgul. There is also a loss in that, if the Barrow Wights are not portrayed, some odd inconsistencies in the plot are introduced--inconsistencies which I am sure that any Tolkien fan will easily think up. We have been spared the oddity of Arwen's presence in the Fellowship, but still we know that there is the missing Bombadil to deal with. Also an inconsistencie later in the movie--when Gandalf is returning to the Shire with the four Hobbits, he turns off the road to visit Bombadil. Where will they send him in the movies? Of course, I'm sure that can be dealt with, yet it is still a terrible loss.