A new Lord of the Rings LEGO set featuring the iconic Balrog is raising eyebrows among fans, due to an oddly-posed product photo.
The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook launched this month, and lets fantasy fans decorate their shelves with the franchise’s iconic fire-breathing enemy. It’s available to purchase now at Amazon and the LEGO Store.
It’s a great-looking set, though fans have spotted one particular image of the Balrog that has prompted a few jokes online. In it, fans say, the position of the creature’s fiery whip makes the demonic foe appear to be urinating.
The 1,201-piece LEGO set is designed to recreate the iconic moment from Fellowship of the Ring where Gandalf fights the Balrog as his allies flee the Mines of Moria. As the wizard makes his stand, uttering the immortal line “You shall not pass!”, the Balrog falls while striking out with its whip — taking Gandalf with down into the depths also.
The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook
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In the Balrog Book Nook set, Gandalf once again faces off against the monster — though one photo for the product shows the Balrog’s glowing magma whip simply hanging loosely at its waist.
It’s this image which has prompted an amused reaction from fans (thanks, FlickSided), who have suggested the Balrog looks to be having a pee.
“We all know we thought it with that image,” wrote one fan in lengthy thread of responses.
“*jumps to comments* Ok good, it wasn’t just me,” wrote another.
“Thank you comments for confirming I’m not crazy,” wrote a third. “I know it’s the fire whip but it really does look like the Balrog is taking a piss on Gandalf.”
And of course, before long, there were several comments stating: “You shall not piss.”
Other responses were more critical of the set’s $129 price point, and suggested it was that, more than anything else, that was making them reconsider a purchase.
For those keen to see more hot Balrog action, Amazon Prime’s Lord of the Rings prequel series Rings of Power includes the iconic enemy in its second season. This is, it’s strongly suggested, the same enemy Gandalf faces centuries later, situated deep in Moria’s depths.
It’s been a busy month for Balrogs in general, as Rapper Curtis Jackson, aka 50 Cent, seemingly rubber-stamped a report that indicated he was in talks to play Balrog in the upcoming Street Fighter movie.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social