Ages of the Company of Thorin Oakenshield
Yeah, the movie played around with the dwarves’ ages quite a bit. They felt (and I don’t necessarily disagree) that a younger cast woud be more relatable and interesting for audiences. So it gets a little confusing comparing it all.
There’s no indication that the actual timeline has changed (as far as I know, Erebor was attacked just as long ago in the movie as in the book.) My only guess is that they’ve just slowed down the dwarf aging process for the movies (which isn’t unreasonable, really, since dwarves aren’t said to start getting grey hair or wrinkles until their 200th year, so (if not for the clear description of Thorin as grey-haired in the book itself) it would be feasible for him to look more like he does in the movie…
But aside from the fact that Thorin apparently has an incredible anti-aging beauty regimen, the real difference in terms of age is the fact that several of the character’s order in the company is changed. Below I’ve listed the ages of each member of the company, including any changes between the book and the movie:
Thorin: Born 2746, making him about 24 when Smaug attacked, and 195 when the quest began. In the book he is the oldest of the dwarves in the company, but in the movie it seems that several dwarves are older than him.
Balin: Born 2763, making him 7 years old when Smaug attacked, and 178 when the quest began. In the movie he’s depicted as the oldest of the dwarves in the company, and certainly older than Thorin.
Dwalin: Born 2772, making him 169 years old during the quest.
Oin: Born 2774, making him 167 during the quest.
Gloin: Born 2783, making him 158 during the quest. (By the way, he would have been a relatively 96 years old when his son Gimli was born.)
Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur: Their dates of birth aren’t listed by Tolkien anywhere. But, since Fili and Kili are said to be the youngest “by some fifty years”, and we know that Balin is the next oldest after Thorin, they had to have been born somewhere between 2763 and 2809, making them somewhere between 132 and 178 during the quest.
Dori, Nori, and Ori: Their dates of birth aren’t listed by Tolkien anywhere. But, since Fili and Kili are said to be the youngest “by some fifty years”, and we know that Balin is the next oldest after Thorin, they had to have been born somewhere between 2763 and 2809, making them somewhere between 132 and 178 during the quest. (In the movie Ori is described as the youngest dwarf in the company, but in the books he’s older than both Fili and Kili.)
Fili: Born 2858, making him 82 years old during the quest.
Kili: Born 2864, making him 77 during the quest. In the book he is described as the youngest of the company, and his brother Fili is the next youngest after him. However, in the movie Ori is said to be younger than both of them.
SOURCES: The Hobbit, The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey: Visual Companion
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