[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

Has the thought occurred to anyone else that inclusion of the Tauriel/Kili storyline may as much have been influenced by modern fan culture as anything else? It struck me that this was Jackson making use of some 'shipping' in his own film. It would certainly not be without precedent, and it's known (not in a Dothraki way ) that film makers, especially those making 'geek friendly' products, are using focus groups more and more, and are very aware of internet culture. Even Sherlock incorporated this in the last series, making use of twitter "OMG he's alive!" quotes all over the screen and having a laugh with (about?) fandom.

An elf/dwarf 'ship' is something lifted directly from tumblr - once the decision was made to throw in a female Elven warrior, it's not long before other ideas would seem interesting.

Oh, so you mean this wasn't actually a hoax after all?