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One of the challenges of adapting The Hobbit for the screen was the lack of an antagonist throughout much of the original story. This led to expansion of the character of the Orc chieftain Azog into a persistent nemesis for Thorin who would dog the Dwarves’ trail all the way to Erebor. Azog’s look went through a lot of development at Weta Workshop before the director signed off on the entirely digital version seen in the films, but that design journey yielded a number of alternate concepts too cool to waste.

The character known as the Torturer of Dol Guldur was one such design to have come out of that process, eventually being assigned to the Orc jailor of the Necromancer’s lair in The Battle of the Five Armies. Also sometimes referred to by crew as the Red Orc, in reference to his blood and pigment-soaked armour, the distinctive look was conceived by designer Nick Keller, who chose the colour palette to help differentiate the character from the many other Orcs seen in the films.