Saruman than in their equivalent books, and he appears in several scenes that are not depicted in Tolkien's work. In the films, Saruman is depicted presenting himself outright as a servant of Sauron. Smith and Matthews suggest that Saruman's role is built up as a substitute for Sauron—the story's main antagonist—who never appears directly in the book. Jackson confirms this view in the commentary to the DVD. They also suggest that having secured veteran British horror actor Christopher Lee to play Saruman, it made sense to make greater use of his star status. Despite this increased role in the first two
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II agreement gave Electronic Arts the rights to build video games based on "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy. The new deal gives Electronic Arts the opportunity to create video games with original stories tied closely with the "Lord of the Rings" universe. In the same announcement, Electronic Arts revealed two games that its EA Los Angeles division would be developing with the license: "The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II" for Windows—a sequel to ""—and "" for the PlayStation Portable. On November 10, 2005, Electronic Arts announced that Hugo Weaving, who played Elrond in the "Lord