While Middle-Earth: Shadow of War has been delayed until October, it is set to pack an interesting set of new and returning features from its predecessor. Last month, we got a look into what the new story has in store for players, including familiar faces from the franchise popping up everywhere you turn. The latest trailer reveals the inclusion of the infamous spider Shelob, but she isn’t as you once knew her.

Shelob featuring in the game will no doubt make many Lord of the Rings fans quite happy, but many will be divided upon finding out that she manifests herself as a noticeably attractive human. Why? At this point your guess is as good as ours.

In the books and Peter Jackson’s film adaptations, Shelob is a large, malicious spider that lived in the mountainous regions next to Mordor long before Sauron took the land. Her allegiance has never been explicitly stated, with her indiscriminately feeding on orcs and men alike, however her intention has never been good.

The game not only changes her appearance drastically but calls into question her character and motivation. In the trailer, we see Talion approached by a dark-haired, slender woman with the ability to give visions to the protagonist. She seems to want to help the main characters, but Tailon’s companion explicitly states his mistrust. It’s also worth noting that multiple swords are swung at both her and a giant spider, prompting the thoughts that she will at one point be an enemy.

It is currently unknown how much Shelob will feature in the game, but given some prominence in the original story trailer and a fully dedicated reveal trailer, my guess is quite. Developer Monolith’s creative vice president Michael de Plater has revealed that fans should expect key characters from the lore to make their way to Shadow of Mordor, so further reveals might be right around the corner.

Shadow of War is to release on the 10th October on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

KitGuru Says: I am a little confused as to why this decision was made, but I trust that the developers have good reason. Shadow of Mordor was brilliantly done so I am more than willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. What do you think about Shelob’s change in form? What characters would you like to see come to Shadow of War?

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