Simon Tolkien, the son of Christopher Tolkien and grandson of JRR Tolkien – is the series consultant of the Rings of Power. However, being his grandson does not determine the credibility of the show, with his main issues being decisions made upon the show and complacency.
He is also known for his own novels such as No Man’s Land, Orders from Berlin, and The King of Diamonds with one of them being dedicated to his father. His parents were separated when he was 5. His grandfather read LOTR to him, and he has been a fan since he was 9. Simon was 14 when his grandfather passed.
Simon might’ve enjoyed LOTR, but he wouldn’t react as strongly to adaptations as much as Christopher Tolkien, who was more involved in JRR’s posthumous works and publications.
Creative differences
At first glance it would seem Simon had rifts with his father, Christopher Tolkien, due to creative differences but they later reconciled.
The differences they navigated seem to be more of a difference in interest based on media and generational gaps, with Simon initially wanting to embrace film adaptations of JRR Tolkien’s work and Christopher not wanting to embrace adaptations, and instead stick to the source material – believing that novels in general are unsuitable to such transformations. Simon later had something to say about the LOTR films, but we would not see this until the Hobbit movies were filmed.
Rings of Power
There was a rumor that Tom Shippey was fired after the death of Christopher Tolkien since he was telling Prime Video they were polluting the source material. Vanity Fair said that Shippey was fired for “unsanctioned interview to a German fan site” where he opined “on what the show could and could not explore.” Simon Tolkien was hired shortly after.
It seemed that as the Rings of Power consultant, Simon did what he wanted though he was not the main writer. He did not write the Rings of Power. However, it is possible he was oblivious to the impact of such changes involved in the Rings of Power.
Film Adaptations
An article on The Independent a few months before the release of Peter Jackson’s first film Fellowship of the Ring cites that Simon and Christopher had an estrangement, primarily concerning the Peter Jackson editions of LOTR films.
[Simon] added: “I believe that my father’s … determination to exclude me from involvement in my grandfather’s literary legacy cannot be morally justified.”
Simon wanted to embrace the films but Christopher did not want to, in fact as mentioned here before, the latter would go on to not like the films once they released.
“My own position is that The Lord Of The Rings is peculiarly unsuitable to transformation into visual dramatic form,” [Christopher] said.
Eventually during the release of the Hobbit films, Simon rejected the films due to being too close to the source material, but this was after the release of the Hobbit films, since in the BBC, he declined any rumors that he didn’t enjoy them for whatever reason.
“LOTR films are too faithful to the books…”
‘… my problem with the films was really, that I think Jackson was kind of too faithful to the books, he kind of put too much into it, and so there was too much going on. I would have liked more character and perhaps following his own course, so I think with the Hobbit films…’ (Simon Tolkien)
It’s interesting how he thinks that the LOTR films are too close to the source material. Unlike his father who is highly concerned with sticking to the source material, and didn’t enjoy the LOTR movie because it strayed too far away from it, Simon thought Jackson should’ve taken more liberties with the LOTR movies – for example in The Hobbit. It would largely depend on the point of the statement.
The bottom line
While Simon wasn’t as involved in the Rings of Power as it seemed at first glance as the series consultant and not a main writer, the main point was that he did not stop certain changes to the lore that he might have been able to as a grandson and fan of JRR Tolkien and his works.
Sure, Christopher couldn’t exactly stop Jackson from filming, he already decided not to be involved prior to the films release. But while Simon wasn’t the writer, he was involved in the Rings of Power.
Simon could have nudged the writers more towards a show that would be truer to his grandfather’s legendarium and the source material while making Rings of Power related decisions. But it is unknown exactly why he did not, though we can speculate.
However, it is possible that it is because Simon didn’t know as much or that he simply wanted the show to go towards a certain direction that’s not too close with the source material for whatever reason.
Simon’s views on the LOTR films may be a reason for his ideas as series consultant for the Rings of Power, though he was not the main writer. During his interview about being under the Tolkien name, it seems that he had a desire to be known for things other than JRR Tolkien’s grandson. But while they could be related, they are not mutually exclusive.
