Changes: Were-worms

Revision as of 23:17, 2 April 2020

"Tell me what you want done, and I will try it, if I have to walk from here to the East of East and fight the wild Were-worms in the Last Desert."

—Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit

Were-worms were creatures told of in the stories of Hobbits. Though possibly mythical, were-worms were thought to be terrible monsters that made their home in the Last Desert, located far to the east of the Shire.

For a hobbit to declare himself prepared to fight were-worms was a sort of proverbial way of saying that he was ready to do anything.^[1]

Portrayal in adaptations

Video games

Were-worms were monsters appearing in the 2003 The Hobbit game.

These large, fearsome worms live in underground dens. and are first seen after the Troll Hole boss fight. They look like caterpillars and when Bilbo kills one, another comes forward to take its place. They are blind and can be snuck up upon. They make a fearsome snarling noise that sounds similar to dogs.

BOTFA Wereworm — A Were-worm in *The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies*

The Hobbit film trilogy

In The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, the Were-worms make a brief appearance before and during the Battle of Five Armies.

The Were-worms appeared in Mount Gundabad when Legolas and Tauriel were spying behind a rock. Azog and Ragash were leading their army to walk through the tunnel which was dug by the worms. After Thorin and Thranduil hear a rumbling noise below the battlefield, several Were-worms suddenly burst through the ground near the hills surrounding Erebor, only to disappear again soon after. As they appear, Gandalf in horror identifies the creatures as Were-worms. Here, they dig tunnels for reinforcements of the Dol Guldur Orc army. In the film, they look somewhat like colossal rainworms with a rock-like skin and massive jaws, crushing everything in their path. Although their appearance is short, with a good 75 feet in diameter and a visible length of at least 400 feet, they are by far the largest participants in the film's main battle, and the largest creatures seen in the trilogy aside from Smaug, who was said to be over 130 meters in length.^[2]

Middle-earth: Shadow of War

Were-wyrm - SoW — Uruks facing a were-wyrm in *The Desolation of Mordor*

Were-worms, referred to as were-wyrms, appear as native to the plain of Lithlad in The Desolation of Mordor, an expansion to the game Middle-earth: Shadow of War. Their appearance is similar to that from The Hobbit films, though the creatures vary greatly in size.

Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles.

The worms that appeared in The Battle of the Five Armies film resemble Carnictis from King Kong (2005); the worm-like creatures which devoured Lumpy, portrayed by Andy Serkis. For Peter Jackson's self-homage to his King Kong, there were more scenes of similarity in the franchise; during the battle under the mountain, Thorin landing on Smaug's nostril vs Ann Darrow falling on the tip of Vastatosaurus Rex's jaws during the battle between Kong and the dinosaurs, facial structure of one of war trolls appeared in the extended edition of the third film strongly resembled that of Kong, and the Bats of Dol Guldur in the third film resembles giant bats of Skull Island.

In The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, Robert Foster suggests Were-worms may have been mis-remembered tales of dragons among Hobbits. Foster notes that "worm" is often used as another name for dragons and "Werewolves" refer to intelligent wolves capable of speech, traits which dragons share.

In the early version of The Hobbit, Bilbo mentioned that he might head to the "Great Desert of Gobi" or the" Last Desert of East" and fight a worm of China there. Interestingly, the Gobi Desert is also known for the legend of Mongolian death worms.

In a portrait featuring the Fall of Gondolin by John Howe, a gigantic creature resembling a centipede can be seen along with a fire-drake (possibly the Fire-drake of Gondolin) and Balrogs.

Wyrms appearing in The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II might be based on Were-worms.

It should be noted that this name is somewhat inaccurate given the origin of the prefix "were" from the Old English word "wer" for "man" and the seeming lack of any connection between men and Were-worms.

The were-worms shown in Peter Jackson's film resemble the Nydus worm's^[3] of the Starcraft series.

Gallery

Film depiction of a Were-worm

by Angus McBride

Translations around the world

Foreign Language	Translated name
Chinese (Hong Kong)	噬地獸
Czech	Zeměžrouti
German	Werwürmer
Norwegian	Vârorm
Polish	Robołaki
Portuguese (Brazil)	Homens-dragões (book) Vermes-gigantes (film)
Russian	Червеоборотни

Races of Arda

Free Peoples of the World:

Servants of the Shadow:

References

↑ The Hobbit, Chapter I: "An Unexpected Party"
↑ Ian Failes. 2014. Behind the scenes of Weta Digital’s Smaug. the fxguide. Retrieved on December 22. 2014
↑ http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Nydus_worm

[1] The Hobbit, Chapter I: "An Unexpected Party"

[2] Ian Failes. 2014. Behind the scenes of Weta Digital’s Smaug. the fxguide. Retrieved on December 22. 2014

[3] ttp://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Nydus_worm

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Quote|Tell me what you want done, and I will try it, if I have to walk from here to the East of East and fight the wild Were-worms in the [[Last Desert]].|[[Bilbo Baggins]] in ''[[The Hobbit]]''}}
+{{Quote|Tell me what you want done, and I will try it, if I have to walk from here to the East of East and fight the wild Were-worms in the Last Desert.|[[Bilbo Baggins]] in ''[[The Hobbit]]''}}
+'''Were-worms''' were creatures told of in the stories of [[Hobbits]]. Though possibly mythical, were-worms were thought to be terrible monsters that made their home in the [[Last Desert]], located far to the east of the [[Shire]].
-[[File:BOTFA_Wereworm.PNG|thumb|334px|A Were-Worm in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies]][[File:Angus McBride - Were worms.jpg|thumb|by Angus McBride]]
-'''Were-worms''' were most likely imaginary or mythical creatures told of in the stories of [[hobbits]]. The were-worms were supposedly terrible monsters that made their home in the [[Last Desert]] very far east of [[the Shire]]. For a hobbit to declare himself prepared to fight were-worms was a sort of proverbial way of saying that he was ready to do anything.<ref>''[[The Hobbit]],'' Chapter I: "[[An Unexpected Party]]"</ref>
+For a hobbit to declare himself prepared to fight were-worms was a sort of proverbial way of saying that he was ready to do anything.<ref>''[[The Hobbit]]'', Chapter I: "[[An Unexpected Party]]"</ref>
-==Portrayal in adaptations==
+== Portrayal in adaptations ==
-===Video games===
+=== Video games ===
 [[File:103px-Wereworm.png|thumb|180x180px]]
 Were-worms were monsters appearing in the 2003 ''[[The Hobbit (2003 video game)|The Hobbit]]'' game.
-These large, fearsome worms live in underground dens. and are first seen after the Troll Hole boss fight. They look like caterpillars and when Bilbo kills one, another comes forward to take its place. They are blind and can be snuck up upon. They make a fearsome snarling noise that sounds similar to dogs.
+These large, fearsome worms live in underground dens. and are first seen after the Troll Hole boss fight. They look like caterpillars and when Bilbo kills one, another comes forward to take its place. They are blind and can be snuck up upon. They make a fearsome snarling noise that sounds similar to dogs.[[File:BOTFA_Wereworm.PNG|thumb|334px|A Were-worm in ''The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies'']]
+=== ''The Hobbit'' film trilogy ===
+In ''[[The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies]]'', the Were-worms make a brief appearance before and during the [[Battle of Five Armies]].
+The Were-worms appeared in [[Mount Gundabad]] when [[Legolas]] and [[Tauriel]] were spying behind a rock. [[Azog]] and [[Ragash]] were leading their army to walk through the tunnel which was dug by the worms. After [[Thorin]] and [[Thranduil]] hear a rumbling noise below the battlefield, several Were-worms suddenly burst through the ground near the hills surrounding [[Erebor]], only to disappear again soon after. As they appear, [[Gandalf]] in horror identifies the creatures as Were-worms. Here, they dig tunnels for reinforcements of the [[Dol Guldur]] [[Orc]] army. In the film, they look somewhat like colossal rainworms with a rock-like skin and massive jaws, crushing everything in their path. Although their appearance is short, with a good 75 feet in diameter and a visible length of at least 400 feet, they are by far the largest participants in the film's main battle, and the largest creatures seen in the trilogy aside from [[Smaug]], who was said to be over '''130 meters '''in length.<ref>Ian Failes. 2014. [http://www.fxguide.com/quicktakes/behind-the-scenes-of-weta-digitals-smaug/ Behind the scenes of Weta Digital’s Smaug]. the fxguide. Retrieved on December 22. 2014</ref>
-=== The Hobbit film trilogy ===
+=== ''Middle-earth: Shadow of War'' ===
+[[File:Were-wyrm - SoW.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Uruks facing a were-wyrm in ''The Desolation of Mordor'']]
-In ''[[The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies]]'', the Were-worms make a brief appearance before and during the [[Battle of the Five Armies]].
+Were-worms, referred to as ''were-wyrms'', appear as native to the plain of [[Lithlad]] in ''The Desolation of Mordor, ''an expansion to the game [[Middle-earth: Shadow of War|''Middle-earth: Shadow of War'']]. Their appearance is similar to that from ''[[The Hobbit film trilogy|The Hobbit]]'' films, though the creatures vary greatly in size.
-[[File:Were-Worms.jpg|thumb|220x220px|Were-Worm]]
-The Were-worms appeared in [[Mount Gundabad]] when [[Legolas]] and [[Tauriel]] were spying behind a rock. [[Azog]] and [[Ragash]] were leading their army to walk through the tunnel which was dug by the worms. After [[Thorin]] and [[Thranduil]] hear a rumbling noise below the battlefield, several Were-worms suddenly burst through the ground near the hills surrounding [[Erebor]], only to disappear again soon after. As they appear, [[Gandalf]] in horror identifies the creatures as Were-worms. Here, they dig tunnels for reinforcements of the [[Dol Guldur]] [[Orc]] army. In the film, they look somewhat like collossal rainworms with a rock-like skin and massive jaws, crushing everything in their path. Although their appearance is short, with a good 75 feet in diameter and a visible length of at least 400 feet, they are by far the largest participants in the film's main battle, and the largest creatures seen in the trilogy aside from [[Smaug]], who was said to be measuring over 426 feet to 462 feet<ref>Ian Failes. 2014. [http://www.fxguide.com/quicktakes/behind-the-scenes-of-weta-digitals-smaug/ Behind the scenes of Weta Digital’s Smaug]. the fxguide. Retrieved on December 22. 2014</ref>.
 == Trivia ==
+{{Trivia}}
+*The worms that appeared in ''The Battle of the Five Armies'' film resemble '''Carnictis''' from ''King Kong (2005);'' the worm-like creatures which devoured Lumpy, portrayed by [[Andy Serkis]]. For [[Peter Jackson]]'s self-homage to his ''King Kong'', there were more scenes of similarity in the franchise; [[The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug|during the battle under the mountain]], [[Thorin]] landing on [[Smaug]]'s nostril vs Ann Darrow falling on the tip of Vastatosaurus Rex's jaws during the battle between Kong and the dinosaurs, facial structure of one of [[Great Guldur War Troll|war trolls]] appeared in the [[The Hobbit Extended Edition|extended edition]] of the [[The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies|third film]] strongly resembled that of Kong, and the [[Bats of Dol Guldur]] in the third film resembles giant bats of Skull Island.
+*In ''The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, ''Robert Foster suggests Were-worms may have been mis-remembered tales of dragons among Hobbits. Foster notes that "worm" is often used as another name for dragons and "[[Werewolves]]" refer to intelligent wolves capable of speech, traits which dragons share.
-*It had never been clear that whether Were-worms were included in [[Úvanimor]]
+*In the early version of ''The Hobbit'', Bilbo mentioned that he might head to the "Great Desert of Gobi" or the" Last Desert of East" and fight a worm of China there. Interestingly, the Gobi Desert is also known for the legend of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolian_death_worm Mongolian death worms].
-*The worms appeared in the film strongly resemble '''Carnictis''' from ''King Kong (2005)'' that were the worm-like creatures devoured Lumpy acted by [[Andy Serkis]]. For [[Peter Jackson]]'s self-homage to his ''King Kong'', there were more scenes of similarity in the franchise; [[The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug|during the battle under the mountain]], [[Thorin]] landing on [[Smaug]]'s nostril vs Ann Darrow falling on the tip of Vastatosaurus Rex's jaws during the battle between Kong and the dinosaurs. Additionally, the [[Bats of Dol Guldur]] in the third film resembles giant bats of Skull Island
+*In a portrait featuring the [[Fall of Gondolin]] by [[John Howe]], a gigantic creature resembling a centipede can be seen along with a fire-drake (possibly the [[Fire-drake of Gondolin]]) and [[Balrog]]s.
-*In ''The Complete Guide to Middle Earth, ''Robert Foster suggests Were-worms may have been mis-remembered tales of dragons among Hobbits.  Foster notes that "worm" is often used as another name for dragons and "[[Werewolves]]" refer to intelligent wolves capable of speech, traits which dragons share
+*[[Wyrms]] appearing in ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II]]'' might be based on Were-worms.
-*In a portrait featuring the [[Fall of Gondolin]] by [[John Howe]], a gigantic creature resembling a centipede can be seen along with a fire-drake (possibly the [[Fire-drake of Gondolin]]) and [[Balrog]]s
+*It should be noted that this name is somewhat inaccurate given the origin of the prefix "were" from the Old English word "wer" for "man" and the seeming lack of any connection between men and Were-worms.
-*[[Wyrms]] appearing in ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II]]'' might be based on Were-worms
+*The were-worms shown in [[Peter Jackson]]'s film resemble the Nydus worm's<ref>http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Nydus_worm</ref> of the ''Starcraft'' series.
-*It should be noted that this name is somewhat inaccurate given the origin of the prefix "were" from the Old English word "wer" for "man" and the seeming lack of any connection between men and Were-worms
+== Gallery ==
-*The were-worm's share a resemblance to the Nydus worm's<ref>http://starcraft.wikia.com/wiki/Nydus_worm</ref> of Starcraft series.
+{{Gallery|width=150|height=150|captionalign=center|position=center
+|Were-Worms.jpg|Film depiction of a Were-worm
+|Angus McBride - Were worms.jpg|by Angus McBride
+}}
-==See also==
+== See also ==
 *[[Withered Heath]]
-==Translations around the World==
+== Translations around the world ==
 {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
 !Foreign Language
@@ Line 53: / Line 61: @@
 |Norwegian
 |Vârorm
+|-
+|Polish
+|Robołaki
 |-
 |Portuguese (Brazil)
-|Homens-dragões ''(book)''<br>Vermes-gigantes ''(film)''
+|Homens-dragões ''(book)''<br />Vermes-gigantes ''(film)''
 |-
 |Russian
@@ Line 63: / Line 74: @@
 {{Races}}
-==References==
+== References ==
-<references />
+<references />[[de:Werwürmer]]
-[[de:Werwürmer]]
 [[ru:Червеоборотни]]
-[[Category:Dragons]]
 [[Category:Monsters]]
-[[Category:Servants of Morgoth]]
-[[Category:Servants of Sauron]]
 [[Category:Azog's army]]
 [[Category:CGI races]]
-[[Category:Villains]]
+[[Category:Non-canonical Servants of Sauron]]