List of deaths in the Lord of the Rings films

The following is a list of deaths (of named characters) that occur during the three Lord of the Rings films directed by Peter Jackson.

Lord of the Rings and the Fellowship of the Ring

 * 1) Gil-Galad: Killed offscreen by Sauron during the intro. (The book mentions his death, and he is witnessed once in the intro of the movie, but his death is never shown)
 * 2) Elendil: Smashed by Sauron using his mace. (As seen in the intro, which takes place long before the main events)
 * 3) Isildur: As seen in the intro, he was killed by orcs with arrows, shooting him in the back as he tried to escape them in the river.
 * 4) The Watcher in the Water: When it collapsed the entrance of the Mines of Moria, it is presumed that the beast was crushed to death, but its fate beyond this is unknown.
 * 5) Boromir: Shot by Lurtz with three arrows, mortally wounding him (though if Lurtz had shot him with a fourth arrow, that would have killed him instantly).
 * 6) Lurtz: Decapitated by Aragorn after having his arm cut off and being stabbed. (Note: Lurtz never appeared in the books)

Lord of the Rings and the Two Towers

 * 1) Snaga: Decapitated by Ugluk. His body was eaten by the other orcs and uruks.
 * 2) Ugluk: Killed offscreen. In the book, it is given that Éomer kills him in single combat. In the film, Éomer says that they "left none alive", indicating that he is dead.
 * 3) Grishnakh: Crushed when Treebeard stomped on him while he was trying to kill Merry.
 * 4) Théodred: Ambushed and mortally wounded by orcs, and died of his injuries.
 * 5) The Balrog: As shown in a flashback, was stabbed by Gandalf on top of a mountain, where it fell dead over the side of a cliff.
 * 6) Hama: Eaten by a Warg.
 * 7) Haldir: Stabbed from behind by an uruk during the Battle of Helm's Deep.

Lord of the Rings and the Return of the King
When the Ring was destroyed, Mount Doom exploded, and the flaming rocks that flew from the mountain of fire hit and killed the eight remaining Ring Wraiths.
 * 1) Déagol: Strangled by Sméagol (who would later become Gollum) to get the ring. (Note: This takes place long before the main events of the first film)
 * 2) Saruman: Stabbed in the back twice by Wormtongue, causing him to fall over the edge of his tower and get impaled on a spike of his wheel. (Note: This scene can only be viewed in the extended edition) In the book, Wormtongue slit his throat near the end, in the Shire, sometime after Sauron fell.
 * 3) Grima Wormtongue: Shot by Legolas with an arrow, in a vain attempt to stop him killing Saruman. (Note: This scene can only be viewed in the extended edition) In the book, his death occurs after Sauron fell, in the Shire, and he was killed by three Hobbits, though with the same type of weapon.
 * 4) Madril: Injured by an orc, and then brutally stabbed to death by Gothmog while lying helpless on the ground.
 * 5) Shelob: Her fate is left unknown. She suffered several injuries at the hands of Sam, including being slashed in the face/eyes and stabbed from below, so it is possible that she died of her injuries. Gollum also mentions that she needs to eat, and all she gets is orcs. When the One Ring was destroyed, so were Sauron and his entire army of orcs, so without any orcs to eat, Shelob may have also starved to death. There is even a possibility that she might have been destroyed with the ring as well, but her ultimate fate remains unknown.
 * 6) Denethor: Was kicked into the fire (which he intended for both himself and Faramir) by Shadowfax, setting him on fire, and he ran over the side of a cliff and fell to his death. (In the book, he simply burned himself to death without any interference from Gandalf or Pippin)
 * 7) Théoden: Was thrown by the Lord of the Nazgûl's dragon, crushing him beneath the body of his horse.
 * 8) The Witch-King of Angmar: (a.k.a. The Lord of the Nazgûl) Was stabbed in the back of the knee by Merry, and then Éowyn finished him off by stabbing him in the face. No man can kill him, however Éowyn is a woman and Merry a Hobbit.
 * 9) Gothmog: His arm was cut off by Aragorn, then he was stabbed by Gimli, and again by Aragorn. (Note: This scene is only viewable on the extended edition)
 * 10) Gorbag: Was stabbed from behind by Sam, as he was trying to kill Frodo. (In the book, he was brutally killed by Shagrat in the fight over the mithril coat)
 * 11) Shagrat: His fate is unknown, however it is given in the book that he was injured, losing an arm. Some believe Sauron killed him after he brought him the mithril coat; otherwise, he would have fought in the final battle, and was either killed in battle or else died when the ring was destroyed, either falling when the foundations of Mordor collapsed or eventually dying due to the ring's destruction.
 * 12) Gollum: While he was fighting Frodo over the One Ring in Mount Doom, they lost their footing and fell over the edge. Gollum and the ring both fell into the lava. (In the book, Gollum does not fight Frodo beyond the point where he bites his finger off; he merely loses his footing and falls into the lava with the ring.)
 * 13) Sauron: Sauron, whose body was destroyed by Isildur centuries ago, could not die unless the ring was destroyed, and was now a great eye on top of his tower. In their fight over the ring, Frodo and Gollum fell over the edge, and Gollum fell (with the One Ring) into the lava. Without the ring, Sauron was destroyed, exploding in a huge shockwave of energy that caused the foundations of Mordor to collapse. (In the book, the circumstances in which Gollum falls into the ring are different)