The fantasy role-playing game (RPG) "Middle-Earth: Shadow of War," which will be released this week, has taken some liberties regarding details of the "Lord of the Rings" canon including the introduction of Shelob, the giant spider as a human woman.
Shelob is most popularly known in the epic film "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," where she captured Frodo and is then confronted by Samwise Gamgee.
The new game, whose events take place way before the events of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings," featured Shelob as one of the main characters. In a previously revealed trailer, she was seen initially in her giant spider form before transforming into a human woman.
This is a form that she has never taken in the books or in the films, and has earned mixed reactions from fans, many of whom are loyal "Lord of the Rings" fans.
However, according to the developers, the decision to create a human form for Shelob came with the desire to put her in a bigger role in the game's narrative.
"I think people's sense of who Shelob is is one of the great spiders, and we could have done just that, sure," said the game's lead narrative designer, Tony Elias. "We could have had Shelob appear in great spider form, but she would have had a much smaller role in the game, ultimately. We really wanted to explore this character."
Still, the creators did not make the change lightly. They relied on the epic tale's text to guide them in creating the new Shelob.
"I think one of the first descriptions of Shelob is an evil thing in spider form," Elias explained. "It's an interesting way to describe this creature: a spider form." Elias added that it felt as if Shelob had chosen to be in spider form, but can still choose to appear in another form. In the game's case, as a human where she guides the game's protagonist with her prophecies.
"Middle-Earth: Shadow of War" will be available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on Oct. 10.
