The Lord of the Rings (film series) September 2009, the dispute was settled. The success of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy led to Jackson directing a trilogy of prequels based on Tolkien's children's book "The Hobbit". The films, which were released between 2012 and 2014, used much of the cast and crew of "The Lord of the Rings", including Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood, Ian Holm (as older Bilbo), Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett and Orlando Bloom who reprised their roles. Although the "Hobbit" films were even more commercially successful than "The Lord of the Rings", they received mixed reviews from critics. Numerous video
Saruman Bakshi's 1978 animated adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings", which corresponds to "The Fellowship of the Ring" and part of "The Two Towers", Saruman is voiced by Fraser Kerr. He has only one major scene—his attempt to persuade Gandalf to join him. He appears again briefly before the battle of Helm's Deep, speaking to his army. The character is dressed in red and is called 'Saruman' and 'Aruman' at different points. Smith and Matthews suggest that the use of 'Aruman' was intended to avoid confusion with 'Sauron'. The 1980 Rankin/Bass TV animated version of "The Return of the King"