- - Peter Jackson recalls Viggo Mortensen surfing accident that altered this key “Lord of the Rings” battle (exclusive)

Lauren HuffJanuary 14, 2026 at 7:00 AM

0

Peter Jackson is pulling back the curtain on the making of the Lord of the Rings trilogy ahead of the theatrical re-release of the iconic films.

Fathom Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures announced Tuesday that the Academy Award-winning director has recorded exclusive, lengthy welcome fan introductions for each of the three respective extended editions of the movies in the LOTR trilogy, which return to theaters this month. Entertainment Weekly has an exclusive look.

In the clip above, Jackson humorously recalls the time when Aragorn himself showed up to set with a black eye, and the helmer had to pivot the way he shot an iconic battle scene in the first film, Fellowship of the Ring.

Pierre Vinet/New Line/Saul Zaentz/Wing Nut/Kobal/Shutterstock

Peter Jackson on set of 'The Two Towers'

"The thing with these movies, of course, is we shot all three of them at the same time and then in a mixed-up kind of way," Jackson begins. "So one day we'd be shooting a bit from The Fellowship, then that would be on Monday. On Tuesday, we'd shoot a scene from [second film] The Two Towers, on Wednesday, back to Fellowship again, on Thursday to [final film] The Return of the King. So it was just one film really for us."

He continues, "So in the mines of Moria scene, too, the other thing I remember, we all show up to shoot that scene. And Viggo had been out with the Hobbits during the weekend, and he'd been surfing, and he had sustained an injury surfing, like the board had flipped in the air and whacked him in the face."

Max

Hobbits: Pippin (Billy Boyd), Frodo (Elijah Wood), Samwise (Sean Astin), Merry (Dominic Monaghan)

Jackson does not elaborate on which Hobbits in particular were present or may have been privy to Mortensen's injury.

"So he comes in, and he's got his eye is bulged out, black eye, shut, like a boxer swollen," Jackson continued, "and he says, 'I'm sorry, Peter. I'm sorry.' And I said, 'Oh God.' So you'll see that all I could do is to shoot him from the side. I couldn't shoot [head on]."

Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.

Jackson tells viewers to keep an eye out for the part of the scene when the cave troll joins the attack, and they'll notice that Mortensen is only shown from one side.

Elsewhere in these never-before-seen custom introductions for each film, Jackson reflects on the making of each of the movies in the trilogy, the journey of bringing Middle-earth to the screen, and what makes experiencing these stories in theaters so special.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy comes back to theaters January 16-18 and 23-25. Tickets for the event are available now at Fathom Entertainment and participating theater box offices (theater locations are subject to change).

The release has already driven record Fathom presales for the franchise, with more than 400,000 tickets sold and over $5 million in domestic box office revenue to date, more than 65 percent ahead of the previous record set in 2024. Due to strong demand for tickets and a number of sold-out locations, additional theatrical locations, dates, and showtimes are being added nationwide.

on Entertainment Weekly

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”