[The Ninth Valar]

Ah, think of it this way. <P>Where do we see Saruman last? Amid the wreck of the Ring of Isengard, fearful and frantic. Perhaps we can assume he has been dealt with by the ents and is no more; they seem capable of dispatching him. <P>Or maybe when Pippin picks up the palantir, there will be a group of archers at the stairs, a slumped Grima over the railing of the balcony and Saruman lying broken and dead on the steps/wheel/machinery. <P>I really think there will be a small reference where Jackson will leave the audience, trusting them in this, to assume Saruman has died or been otherwise handled. Given the end of TTT, this is a reasonable assumption.