The Fall of Gondolin
Credit: Abandoned Films
AI media has come a long way in recent years, and image generation software has taken a huge leap forward. Although the ability to animate these images remains limited, we are on the brink of major change. Soon, you’ll be able to create videos that rival those seen in traditional movies and media. There are legitimate concerns about how this will affect artists, how copyright may be violated, and a myriad of other potential pitfalls. On the other hand, there is something like a democratizing effect, where these tools suddenly allow anyone to create things that were previously unimaginable. Just as photography has democratized the ability to create pictures, it’s not quite the same. Without the skillset of a painter or artist.
However, I’m not particularly interested in discussing AI in this article. I think the arguments on both sides are persuasive, but either way, I believe this is the future, whether we like it or not. Instead, we’d like to draw your attention to the next “trailer” for The Fall Of Gondolin, which was created almost entirely using AI. The only thing that wasn’t AI-generated was the music and title, but I’ve played around with AI music generation quite a bit, so I’d say it was pretty easy to create an epic score for this trailer.
The Fall of Gondolin is based on JRR Tolkien’s story about the ancient hidden elven city of Gondolin in Beleriand during the First Age of Middle-earth. Gondolin fell to the forces of Morgoth after the city’s elven lord Maeglin betrayed him. His people gave the position to the enemy. Maeglin was corrupted by a forbidden desire for King Turgon’s daughter Idril. Idril also happened to be his cousin, which was a huge taboo in Elvish culture.
Maeglin’s hatred only deepened when Ildir married Tuor, but it was only after she was captured by the orcs and threatened with torture by Morgoth in Angband that she revealed Gondolin’s location and weakness. The Dark Lord then promised Maeglin her heart’s desire, control of the city and the promise of Idril’s hand, but she despised him and loved another. Maeglin returned to Gondolin and attempted to capture Idril when Morgoth attacked, but was stopped by Tuor and thrown from the battlements, dying at the young age of 190.
Morgoth bides his time, and several years after learning of its location, his army launches an attack on Gondolin, attacking during a festival and quickly overwhelming the elven defenses. This is where the swords later discovered in The Hobbit were made and became legendary. Glamdring, later used by Gandalf, was King Turgon’s sword. The Orcryst used by Thorin II Oakenshield was forged in Gondolin, where he slaughtered many orcs.
Morgoth brought into battle creatures far more terrifying than orcs. Balrogs and even dragon allies descended upon the city, children of the mighty Glaurung. Turgon was killed in the battle, but others escaped, including Tuor, Idril, and the legendary elven warrior Glorfindel, who fell to his death fighting the Balrog while fleeing through the mountains. Like Gandalf of Moria, both elves and Balrogs fell and died, and like Gandalf they were brought back to Middle-earth, but Glorfindel was not resurrected until thousands of years later. Gondolin was the last great elven kingdom of Middle-earth. Its splendor and strength will never be seen again.
With that in mind, here’s the trailer:
As you can see, this is pretty rough compared to the actual movie trailer, but it’s still impressive to see what this software can do. The elf looks great, just like an elf. And it has a grand atmosphere. There are also moments where the elves have surprisingly good conversations. However, while there aren’t many intimate moments and everything can be pretty mundane at times, it does a pretty good job of envisioning the White City of Gondolin in a hidden valley. Most of all, it makes me think that an actual limited series about this story could be pretty great in the right hands.
Either way, it’s better than Rings Of Power.
PS It’s trivia time! Tuor was the son of Huor and Lian. The second name may seem familiar. The creators of Ring of Power “borrowed” that name for an elven archer character who “borrowed” Boromir’s death, even though they gave her very little dialogue or character development. It is.
PPS Learn about Glorfindel. If true, they should have sent him with the Fellowship. He fought and killed the Balrog! He helped defeat the Witch-King of Angmar and even prophesied that no “mortal” would ever kill him (leading to Éowyn’s great moment). One of Tolkien’s greatest characters, he is said to have had nearly as much power as the Maiar when he returned to Middle-earth.
