Is Talion in The Lord of the Rings?
Talion is a character from the middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War, but is he indeed related to the Lord of the Rings? The answer may not be straightforward, but I’d like to dive in to explore the connections, references, and differences to put this question to bed.
Directly in or out? A Simplistic Answer
Answer: Out. Talion, the protagonist of shadow of Mordor, is not a Canon Character in Lord of The Rings lore. Created as a unique character designed specifically for the video games of the same name by Monolith Productions, no direct connection exists, ensuring Talion’s significance beyond the realm of both LOTR and the in-games’ narrative significance does not exist explicitly as a part of their parent franchise**.
Despite both being set in J.R.R. Tolkien‘s Middle Earth (the same fictional, prehistoric world), games primarily focus on the specific sub-narratives tied up in the war events and Gower’s story during specific timeframes. If in doubt, consider war events as something as simple as the main stage of the Middle-eastern conflict – rather than the core historical events of other movies, books, in media res.
History/Background
Tallon first appeared in the fictional stories of Middle-ean as a new member of the elf family. He lives throughout the Middle Years. The Waning of the Elves Era marks the end of T’s life – we know that the most effective way to deal w/ the enemy we could not defeat involves dealing with the Mandate of the Second Prophecy. Let yourself be guided by reason so that you can not live in the House- of the Shadow People.