The Lord of the Rings: Gandalf had almost no pipe!

Impressive gray beard, pointed hat, large staff and … long wooden pipe.

J.R.R. Like Tolkien, the respected author of The Lord of the Rings, who was also known as the smoker of the Great Chibukh, the magician Gandalf likes to sit on a ring of smoke when resting away from a journey or an epic battle.

However, this character trait, which today seems virtually inseparable from the famous magician, was almost torn from the film and replaced by another mania, certainly better for health, but completely unbelievable. Indeed, as its translator Ian McKellen says in the audio commentary The Brotherhood of the PrintIt was once thought that Gandalf would suck caramel instead of smoking a pipe.

“(…) Fran Walsh – or perhaps Philippa Boyens – suggested Gandalf quit smoking.– says McKellen and refers to the two producers and screenwriters of the film. “They feared that New Line, censors or anti-smokers would protest the number of characters they smoked. Gandalf is the main one and we really do not know what to put in his mile. That was it in the 1960s. It must have been a hallucinogenic plant. “

While the actor is clearly joking about the substance contained in Gandalf’s pipe, it seems that the possibility of replacing it with candy was taken very seriously. Before shooting the first “non-smoking” version of the scenes in question:

“Gandalf quit smoking, he did not smoke in the carriage scenes, he was smoking candy”Recalls McKellen.

“He uttered his text while sucking on the caramel. But the tube version won. Well, he was a little brazen. (…) There was a good moment when he was with Bilbo the night before the party. Gandalf gave up and passed his first pipe after a long time. Then, on Elrond’s board, the caramel package reappeared. It was an opportunity to show that Rivendell was not smoking. Gandalf had to return to his caramels. It was cut. “

As we know, the film crew chose Gandalf, a barrel smoker, in line with Tolkien’s original work, and no doubt preferred to expose themselves to the possible wrath of censorship rather than those of these admirers.

(Re) Discover our video dedicated to Gandalf …