Saruman appears as a minor villain in "Lego Dimensions", in which he allies himself with main antagonist Lord Vortech. Asteroid 418532 Saruman was named after the wizard and in honor of actor Christopher Lee. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 25 September 2018 (). [a] The volume published as "The Silmarillion" in 1977 contains four books in addition to the "Quenta Silmarillion". The last of these—"Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"—covers Saruman's earlier history, but was written after "The Lord of the Rings". Note: For ease of reference, citations of "Letters" include
The Lord of the Rings (1978 film) historian, described "The Lord of The Rings" as one of two films that demonstrated "that Bakshi was utterly lacking in the artistic self-discipline that might have permitted him to outgrow his limitations." The film has been cited as an influence on director Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy. After initially denying having seen Bakshi's film, Jackson admitted to having first encountered "The Lord of the Rings" via Bakshi's film, stating that the film was a "brave and ambitious attempt." In another interview, Jackson stated that he "enjoyed [the film] and wanted to know more." Bakshi is quoted