In the first script for Lord of the Rings, Aragorn and Boromir shared a pretty steamy kiss on the lips. When you think of the Lord of the Rings movies, the first thing that comes to mind is the Peter Jackson movies. Jackson’s version adaption of the Lord of the Rings remains definitive, and they rank among the greatest fantasy movies of all time.
Adapting JRR Tolkien’s writing to meet the demands of the screen was a huge task, and unavoidably, some characters and plotlines from the books were cut from the movies, along with other changes too (don’t get us started on what the movies did to Faramir). Jackson took on the task of writing the script himself, alongside a trio of other writers.
However, Jackson’s movies weren’t the first attempt to bring The Lord of the Rings to the screen. In fact, back in 1970, British filmmaker John Boorman, the director behind classic thriller movie Deliverance, wrote a script for the Lord of the Rings movies. He even corresponded with Tolkien himself about the adaption.
As it turns out, you can read his full script for the Lord of the Rings online. The script contains many, many changes to Tolkien’s writing, and is pretty different from Jackson’s movies too. In one standout scene, Aragorn and Boromir even have a little snog.
The moment comes after a scene where Arwwn calms the two men, when they’ve had a confrontation about who should carry Elendil’s broken sword Narsil. It can be found on page 50, and reads as follows “They are both deeply moved. Boromir weeps openly and a tear starts out of Aragorn’s grey eyes. They rise up and Boromir kisses Aragorn’s mouth. They turn back to Arwen but she is gone.”
Has someone turned the temperature up in here? The kiss is intended to be platonic, we assume, but that won’t stop imaginations running wild about how such a scene would have been executed. In The Fellowship of the Ring, Aragorn gives Boromir a kiss on the forehead as he dies, but many fans will feel like they’ve been robbed of witnessing a quick smooch between the two men of Gondor, which certainly would have been a noteworthy moment, to say the least.
Still, it’s now unlikely that we’ll get to see the moment of intimacy between the two Lord of the Rings characters ever recorded for the screen. Whether that’s a shame or not, we’ll leave for you to decide. For more Middle-earth based erotic tension, check out our guide to Galadriel and Halbrand’s relationship in Rings of Power. Or, for something less racey, find out whether or not Isildur is related to Aragorn.