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Middle-Earth Shadow of War Changed Shelob and Fans Aren't Having Any of It

Something's different about the giant evil spider.

Matt Kim avatar
Article by Matt Kim News Editor, USgamer
Updated on

This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.

A new Middle-Earth: Shadow of War trailer debuted at the geek mecca of San Diego Comic-Con today with a big reveal. Literally. Shelob, the giant spider of pure nightmare fuel is back, though she looks a little different than I remember her. I just can't quite put my finger on it. Oh, it's probably the fact that she's now a human lady instead of a gross giant spider for most of her screentime appearance.

The community consensus around Lord of the Rings: Shadow of War is that the game is already treading dangerously into fan-fiction territory after Shadow of Mordor. The series is already changing all sorts of things from J.R.R. Tolkein's lore and mythology for the service of making a cool action game. The latest change of course is to Shelob, The Shadow Spider, who apparently gained a new power in Shadow of War. A power that turns her into a femme fatale of sorts, slinking up to the main character (who is already stomping up and down Tolkein's canon).

Fans have reacted, interestingly to the new trailer, though of course purists remain adamant that Shelob remain a giant spider.

How dare she?!

Don't judge a book by its cover, unless that cover is a giant evil spider.

Explain yourself Warner Bros!

*slow clap*

One fan's reaction in particular is a little...uh, disconecerting.

Of course there are those who've reacted more posivitely to the altered Shelob, in very predictable ways.

C'mon man.

I'm actually just glad people are excited by the changes in the material.

But it's still nice to know that Lord of the Rings fans are a particular bunch, loyal to Tolkein's vision (as interpreted properly exactly three times by Peter Jackson).

One commenter on Reddit is checking off the various ways this could work in canon and I kind of dig that.

Comment from discussion Official Shadow of War Shelob Reveal Trailer.

NeoGAF users are also debating the merits of the new Shelob. "We're in full fanfic mode," writes JonnyDBrit. "Potentially thematically appropriate fanfic, but fanfic all the same. They're already screwing with the timeline, and nothing explicitly said she couldn't take humanoid form."

"I'm basically treating this like I do all the thousands of non [canon]/alternative timeline comics that I've read and loved in the past," comments user VlaudTheImpaler.

I'm not going to lie though, this is the comment that got me. Dark Souls might have conditioned me to expect spider women.

Spider lady vs spider lady

The trailer does show Shelob in her spider form, so it's not like Shadow of War has completely forsaken her true, multi-legged visage. I am interested to see how this change pans out, because since the game is kean on making some dramatic changes, I now expect Shadow of War to go for broke.

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About the Author
Matt Kim avatar

Matt Kim

News Editor, USgamer

Matt Kim is a former freelance writer who's covered video games and digital media. He likes video games as spectacle and is easily distracted by bright lights or clever bits of dialogue. He also once wrote about personal finance, but that's neither here nor there.

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