Gandalf Fights The Witch-King In Stunning Lord Of The Rings Cosplay (2024)

A stunning new Lord of the Rings cosplay imagines a sword fight between Gandalf and the Witch-king. Peter Jackson first brought J.R.R. Tolkien's world of Middle-earth to life in live-action in 2001, chronicling Frodo's (Elijah Wood) epic quest to destroy the One Ring. Gandalf (Ian McKellen) plays a crucial role throughout all three installments in the franchise, eventually having a brief face off with the Nazgûl leader, the Witch-king of Angmar, toward the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

A new cosplay shared by @gandalfcosplay on Instagram recreates Gandalf's battle with the Witch-king in The Lord of the Rings, and both characters are recreated with an impressive level of detail. Check out the cosplay below:

While it's Gandalf the White who fights the Witch-king in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, this cosplay imagines that it was instead Gandalf the Grey. The cosplayer faithfully recreates the wizard's robes and seemingly sports some exact prop replicas, including Gandalf's staff and Glamdring, his sword.

Did Gandalf's Witch-king Fight Deserve More Screen Time In Lord Of The Rings?

More Gandalf vs Witch-king Action Is A Double-Edged Sword

During the Siege of Gondor in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Gandalf plays a crucial role in organizing Minas Tirith's defense. Although the castle at first appears quite impenetrable, the walls are eventually breached, and the Witch-king contributes to this. Riding atop his Fell Beast, the Witch-king destroys some of Minas Tirith's trebuchets before landing and having a clash with Gandalf, breaking his staff. Gandalf's brief fight with the Witch-king, however, is featured only in the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

In many ways, a fight between Gandalf and the Witch-king feels like an effective pairing. Both are supremely powerful beings, with one representing the forces of good while the other represents the forces of evil. Having a more prolonged fight between Gandalf and the Witch-king, though, could have taken away from the villain's eventual demise, with Éowyn (Miranda Otto) ultimately delivering the killing blow on Pelennor Fields.

It's also worth mentioning, of course, that the Witch-king doesn't break Gandalf's staff in Tolkien's source material, with Jackson likely including the moment to raise the stakes. The decision is a somewhat controversial one, with some feeling that Gandalf is portrayed as being too weak during these moments. The above Lord of the Rings cosplay, however, certainly makes a larger fight between Gandalf and the Witch-king an interesting proposition.

Source: @gandalfcosplay/ Instagram

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is a multimedia franchise consisting of several movies and a TV show released by Amazon titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The franchise is based onJ.R.R. Tolkien's book series that began in 1954 with The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings saw mainstream popularity with Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.

Movie(s)

The Lord of the Rings (1978) , The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring , The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers , The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King , The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey , The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug , The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies , The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim

Created by

J.R.R. Tolkien

First Film

The Lord of the Rings (1978)

Cast

Norman Bird , Anthony Daniels , Elijah Wood , Ian McKellen , Liv Tyler , Viggo Mortensen , Sean Astin , Cate Blanchett , John Rhys-Davies , Billy Boyd , Dominic Monaghan , Orlando Bloom , Christopher Lee , Hugo Weaving , Sean Bean , Ian Holm , Andy Serkis , Brad Dourif , Karl Urban , Martin Freeman , Richard Armitage , James Nesbitt , Ken Stott , Benedict Cumberbatch , Evangeline Lilly , Lee Pace , Luke Evans , Morfydd Clark , Mike Wood , Ismael Cruz Cordova , Charlie Vickers , Markella Kavenagh , Megan Richards , Sara Zwangobani , Daniel Weyman , Cynthia Addai-Robinson , Lenny Henry , Brian Cox , Shaun Dooley , Miranda Otto , Bilal Hasna , Benjamin Wainwright , Luke Pasqualino , Christopher Guard , William Squire , Michael Scholes , John Hurt

TV Show(s)

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Character(s)

Frodo Baggins , Gandalf , Legolas , Boromir , Sauron , Gollum , Samwise Gamgee , Pippin Took , Celeborn , Aragorn , Galadriel , Bilbo Baggins , Saruman , Aldor , Wormtongue , Thorin Oakenshield , Balin Dwalin , Bifur , Bofur , Bombur , Fili , Kili , Oin , Gloin , Nori , Dori , Ori , Tauriel , King Thranduil , Smaug , Radagast , Arondir , Nori Brandyfoot , Poppy Proudfellow , Marigold Brandyfoot , Queen Regent Míriel , Sadoc Burrows

Video Game(s)

The Lord of the Rings Online , Middle-Earth: Shadow of War , The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum , The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria