The Lord of the Rings movies had the difficult task of adapting J. R. R. Tolkien's books to the screen. In doing so, some interesting characters had to be cut. One such character is Tom Bombadil. He plays a rather important role in the Fellowship of the Ring book but does not appear at all in the movie adaptations of Lord of the Rings. While Frodo and his friends are walking through the Old Forest, Merry and Pippin get stuck in a rather unpleasant tree known as Old Man Willow.
Concerned, Frodo immediately runs for help and finds Tom Bombadil, who had been out picking flowers. Bombadil tells Old Man Willow to release the Hobbits, which is done immediately. Bombadil then invites Frodo and his friends to his house. They accept the invitation and stay there for two days before returning to their journey.
While the Hobbits are at Bombadil's house, they tell him all about their quest to destroy the Ring. He asks to see the Ring, and Frodo gives it to him, surprised to see that Bombadil doesn't disappear when he puts it on. Bombadil is also able to see Frodo even when he has the Ring on, which also surprises the Hobbit. The day after they leave Bombadil's house, he comes to their rescue yet again. The Hobbits are attacked by Barrow-wights but luckily are saved by Bombadil. He then escorts them to the edge of his land and then heads back home. This is not the end of Bombadil's influence in the books. He is even brought up at Council of Elrond once the Hobbits reach Rivendell. The suggestion is that the Council would give the One Ring to Bombadil, as he seems immune to its power.
Gandalf, however, disagrees with that idea. He believes that Bombadil might agree to take the Ring but would not understand its importance. He would either forget about it or throw it away, and it would also not be possible to give the Ring to Bombadil without Sauron noticing. Although Bombadil seems to be powerful within his lands, he would likely be no match for Sauron. And Sauron would absolutely go after the Ring and attack Bombadil's lands with all his might. Bombadil would, therefore, not be able to keep the Ring safe if he didn't lose it or throw it away. Of course, in the end, the Council decides to send the Fellowship to destroy the Ring. Yet the fact that Bombadil was referenced at the Council – Elrond even mentions having met him in the past – shows what an important character he could've been.
Bombadil is powerful too, most likely. He mentions coming to Middle Earth before the first Dark Lord, who was known as Melkor or Morgoth. Sauron was Morgoth's lieutenant. It is insinuated that Bombadil was one of the first to inhabit Arda or Tolkien's version of Earth. He arrived in Middle Earth and began to explore it.
It is unclear what his role in the big events of Middle Earth is, yet he is known by different names to Elves, Dwarves, and Men. The elves called him Iarwain Ben-adar, which means oldest and fatherless. Dwarves, on the other hand, called him Forn and he was known to Men as Orald. He even moved west before the Elves did. He is married to a River-spirit named Goldberry and appears to be benevolent, whatever he is.
So why is such an important and intriguing character left out of the films? Well, one possible reason is that the dreamlike tone and slower nature of Tom Bombadil's parts in the books might not have fit with the story Peter Jackson was telling in the movies. For one thing, the Hobbits spend a lot of time with Bombadil before returning to their travels. If the movies had followed the books exactly, the story would've had to slow down a lot in order to fit Bombadil in.
While the character is interesting, moviegoers might not have wanted to sit through a story at such a slow pace. Bombadil is also, though interesting, rather silly. He does a lot of singing and doesn't always make much sense. Further, the Hobbits and the audience do not know much about Bombadil except what he tells them. Bombadil is something of a mystery.
All of that too might not have fit with the story Jackson was telling. Of course, not everyone will agree that Bombadil wouldn't have fit into the movies. Some Lord of the Rings fans might have preferred the story including his presence in it. While Jackson definitely had his reasons for cutting Bombadil, some fans might still wonder why. Perhaps his presence would have added some hope and fun into the story, opinions will differ. Either way, Tom Bombadil is something of an enigma for Lord of the Rings fans, one that some will enjoy solving.