Creator Backlash: In later years, Christopher Tolkien became dissatisfied with some of his editorial choices, noting that he did not have access to all of his father's manuscripts, and felt in hindsight that he should have been less obtrusive in tampering with the original text. He particularly expressed regret over the "Ruin of Doriath", feeling that he should have made better use of the text without adding foreign elements devised by himself and Guy Gavriel Kay, and included a version more in line with his father's intent in Beren and Lúthien.
Development Hell: Tolkien began writing The Silmarillion during the First World War and it was published only in 1977, over sixty years after its first conception and four years after his death.
Died During Production: Tolkien died before he could finish it. However, he spent years and years fiddling with the stories, so the published version is an editorial creation, assembling together various texts.
Extremely Lengthy Creation: Tolkien started work on what would become this in 1914. After his death in 1973 it still wasn't finished. It was finally published in 1977 by his son Christopher.
No Adaptations Allowed: The Tolkien Estate has never licensed any of the Silmarillion material, so there will never be any film adaptations of the book, due to Christopher's general wariness about adaptation and dissatisfaction with the LOTR movies. They have, however, given the nod to a four-part opera, which is being released from 2018. Notably, despite Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power taking place in the Second Age, during the time of Númenor, they are actually using the licence for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, meaning they can only use elements that are mentioned in those stories and the Appendices.
Referenced by...: German world music artist Oonagh has done numerous songs based on the book and its characters.
Saved from Development Hell: J.R.R.Tolkien worked on it from WWI to his death - over fifty years! - and it was published posthumously by his son Christopher in 1977. Most Tolkien fans agree it was definitely worth it.
385446 Manwë is a trans-Neptunian object named after the ruler of the Valar. Its satellite, Thorondor, is named after the chief of the Great Eagles that serve Manwë.
174567 Varda is a trans-Neptunian object named after the Vala of the stars. Its satellite Ilmarë is named after Varda's handmaid.
The star WHL0137-LS, which at the time of its discovery in 2022 was the farthest star from Earth ever observed, was given the name Earendel, after Eärendil the Mariner and the Morning Star that he guides through the skies of Arda.
Yavanna is a Cretaceous tree fern named after the Vala who created plants and animals.
Ancalagon is a genus of Cambrian worms named after the ring of spines around their mouths, which their discoverers thought made them look reminiscent of dragons. Ancalagon also had a carnivorous mammal named after him, Ankalagon saurognathus. It was supposed to be Ancalagon, but the aforementioned worms forced a change.
A considerable number of the moths of the genus Elachista described by the Finnish entomologist Lauri Kalia have been named after elven characters from the story, such as Elachista aredhella, E. celegormella, E. diorella, E. turoella, and so on.
In some stories printed in The History of Middle-earth, Tolkien noted that Ungoliant was killed by Eärendil on his voyages. He later dropped this idea and had her possibly devour herself.
Ungoliant was originally a primeval spirit of Darkness, whose origins were completely unknown, though presumably a creature from the Void. This is changed in later versions of The Silmarillion, where it is more evident that she was one of the Maiar that served Melkor until she deserted him.
The first versions of Lúthien and her tale are very different from how the story finally shaped out to be. Originally, she was a blue-eyed blonde dressed up in white, Daeron was her brother, and Beren was an elf, Sauron was a huge cat named Tevildo, she didn't die but walked into Valinor over Helcaraxë to meet Mandos, and so forth.
In some drafts for the Akallabêth, Míriel fell in love with Ar-Pharazôn, married him voluntarily, and gave up most of her power to him.
In the earliest drafts, elves had a very different form of Immortality - they shrank as they got older, becoming Miniature Senior Citizens. This was an attempt to explain how the old Norse concept of human-sized elves gave rise to tiny Disney-esque fairies.
Tolkien struggled with how to incorporate Galadriel and Celeborn into the events of The Silmarillion. Because both characters were created during the writing of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien needed to insert both of them into the First and Second Ages without heavily rewriting the story. Eventually Tolkien made the decision to re-write Galadriel's backstory only to die a few weeks later.
Word of Saint Paul: Christopher Tolkien's commentaries and edits on posthumous works. Also his version of the war between Doriath and the Dwarves, which his father never got around to writing. Specifically, the only complete version of the events existed in Tolkien's Book of Lost Tales, the very first version of what would become The Silmarillion. This lead to continuity issues as Tolkien re-wrote and updated his stories.
, which is being released from 2018. Notably, despite Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power taking place in the Second Age, during the time of Númenor, they are actually using the licence for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, meaning they can only use elements that are mentioned in those stories and the Appendices.