Aragorn's Age in 'The Hobbit'

[Valandil]

Alright... a lot of friends here are going to think I've gone over to the Dark Side, but bear with me.

Canonically, Aragorn's age at the time Bilbo passes through Rivendell at the start of his journey is precisely fixed at 10 years old. You can look it up in Appendix B of LOTR. Open and shut, case closed, etc.

But for the movies' sake, I wonder if it should be treated differently. I think it's possible for Aragorn to make an appearance as a young man - of 20 or even 25. Here's why:

In the LOTR movies, Bilbo was clearly 111 (eleventy-one) at his farewell birthday party. In the book, it's another 17 years before Frodo leaves the Shire. But in the movies, it couldn't have been nearly so long. 1 year at most, maybe not that. Just time for Gandalf to ride to Minas Tirith (apparently full gallop the whole way ), spend some time looking through the old scrolls, and ride back. OK - if the search was long, maybe 2 years - but I don't think 17.

Meanwhile - in the Extended Edition of TT, Aragorn tells Eowyn that he's 88. Just about right on - except he forgot that he'd just had a birthday a few days before (with all that was going on, maybe it slipped his mind). So he was really 89 - but no big difference.

Now... IF Bilbo is 50 when he starts out, Aragorn could not be 10 - in the movies. He would have to be about 25. Or maybe we fudge a little and let Bilbo be 45 and Aragorn 20.

The exciting thing about this is... Peter Jackson COULD weave in part of the Tale of Aragorn & Arwen that we see in Appendix A - and that otherwise could not be incorporated into the movie. And when you think about it - if it isn't put into these movies - they're not going to make another movie that will show that. I mean - I personally would go for a 'LOTR - Appendix A' Movie in a BIG WAY, but I'm a rather limited audience.

So this is what I would just LOVE to see happen:
* Before Bilbo reaches Rivendell, Arwen arrives from Lorien. After all - grandma didn't want her hanging around because things were going to get tense with Dol Guldor.
* Meanwhile - Aragorn (20-or-so) comes in, maybe even with a scouting report on Thorin's party - and Elrond reveals to him his lineage.
* Soon after Arwen's arrival, she meets Aragorn, as described in App A.
* Interlude of Dwarven party's arrival. Maybe we get a small download on the old North Kingdom - Arnor. Bilbo makes a hobbity statement about 'when the king comes back' (perhaps in Aragorn's presence!) - and someone states offhand that from beyond the Shire to the fords of Bruinen once was a land called Arnor - sister kingdom to Gondor. No more need be said.
* After they go, we see Gilraen, Aragorn's mother, who asks him what's on his mind.
* After speaking with his mother, Aragorn is called before Elrond, again - per Appendix A. Elrond names the bride-price (must be king of both Arnor and Gondor). Aragorn goes into the wild.

I mean... wouldn't that all be GREAT! And otherwise - we'll never see it on the screen! Contrast with images of a 10-year old, wandering around Rivendell.

OK... what do you folks think? Even throw darts, if you must. But this is a change to the story/backstory that I would like to see. And... it doesn't really change the story so much. In fact, it tells more of it. It only messes with timelines. Or rather - keeps them as they were modified to in the first series of movies, and adds some detail.