We hope you enjoyed this April Fools’ Day joke for 2023. (Though wouldn’t a LEGO Lord of the Rings be fun…?)

Since it was announced in February of this year that Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema had secured a deal with Embracer Group to create more Middle-earth movies, fans have been waiting eagerly to hear what would be the first movie on the slate. (We already know, of course, about The War of the Rohirrim, due April 2024.) As it turns out, the next feature to be set in Tolkien’s realms is not what one might have expected – though it does stay in the world of animation (and of course we did just see the release of the Rivendell LEGO set). We’re thrilled that TORN has been given the exclusive to reveal: Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema have announced today that a new Lord of the Rings LEGO movie is set to be released in 2025.

Here’s the official press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW LINE CINEMA AND WARNER BROS. ANIMATION’S “THE LORD OF THE RINGS: A LEGO ADVENTURE’ ARRIVES IN CINEMAS ON APRIL 1, 2025

The Studio behind the cinematic blockbuster “Lord of the Rings” trilogy returns with an original animated film, bringing the legends of Middle-earth into the world of LEGO

BURBANK, CA, April 1, 2023 – Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that the animated movie ‘The Lord of the Rings: A LEGO Adventure’, from New Line Cinema and in partnership with The LEGO Group, will release in theaters on April 1, 2025.

This whimsical animated adaptation of the beloved, epic tale is set to hit theaters April 2025, bringing together fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendary saga and LEGO enthusiasts alike, for an unforgettable journey through Middle-earth as it’s never been seen before.

Esteemed actors Sir Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis will both return to their respective roles as Gandalf and Gollum. The all-star voice cast also includes:

  • Jim Broadbent as Bilbo Baggins, the eccentric and adventurous hobbit who sets the stage for Frodo’s journey
  • Austin Butler as Frodo Baggins, the courageous and unexpected hero on a quest to save Middle-earth
  • James D’Arcy as Samwise Gamgee, Frodo’s loyal gardener and self-appointed guardian
  • Simon Pegg as Meriadoc Brandybuck, the wisest of Frodo’s three Hobbit companions
  • Nick Frost as Peregrin Took, the youngest of the Hobbits on this quest, mission, thing
  • Chris Pine as Aragorn, the mighty and charismatic heir to the throne of Gondor
  • Genevieve O’Reilly as Galadriel, the fierce and fabulous Elven queen, with unmatched power and style
  • Michael Shannon as Denethor, the troubled steward of Gondor whose descent into madness is as captivating as it is chilling

A playful reimagining of the classic story, ‘The Lord of the Rings: A LEGO Adventure’ comes more than 22 years after the culmination of Sir Peter Jackson’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy based on the iconic books by J.R.R. Tolkien. The films are among the most successful and acclaimed of all time, winning seventeen Oscars including eleven for “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” tying the record for a single film. This new movie promises to be a blockbuster adventure that captures the heart and spirit of the original story, while adding a touch of humour and creativity that only the world of LEGO can provide.

“With Sir Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis reprising their iconic roles as Gandalf and Gollum, we wanted to sew a thread of familiarity into this particular production,” said Toby Emmerich, Chairman, Warner Bros. Pictures Group. “At the same time, we wanted to bring new and surprising voices to the other characters to give them a fresh and unique take. We’re confident that this talented group of actors will breathe new life into this classic tale, and we can’t wait for audiences to experience this new journey through Middle-earth.”

Animation work has already begun; more exciting voice casting will be announced imminently.  The film will be distributed theatrically worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema.

TheOneRing.net will be at WonderCon this year, and we will be hosting two panels over the course of the weekend, April 1-3 in the Anaheim Convention Center. If you plan to attend the convention, please read through the WonderCon COVID protocols.

Our first panel, Middle-earth! Coming to your TV this Fall will be at 4:30 pm on Friday, April 1 (no joke) in room North 200A. This will be our big overview panel, with all the news, rumors, and anecdotes about Amazon’s Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, as well as the WB’s upcoming animated War of the Rohirrim. There will be an update on any and all Middle-earth news, activities, and events coming up this year. And we can wait to see if anyone has had enough time to create a costume from the recent Amazon Teaser Trailer.

Our Second panel, I am no Man: The Women of Middle-earth will be a deep dive into Tolkien’s legendarium to discuss all the unique and wonderful women that Tolkien created. For those who have just read The Hobbit, Middle-earth feels like an ‘all males club’, but in The Lord of the Rings and some of the books of deeper lore, there are queens and warriors and creators, all women, who had a hand in shaping the Middle-earth we all know and love. The presentation is still being crafted, if there is a specific woman of Middle-earth you wish to see discussed, send an email to Garfeimao@TheOnering.net. Include the character name and a brief note about what makes her so special for you, we will include as many as we can fit into our allotted panel time.

I’m sure it comes as no surprise that on Sunday morning, April 1st you woke up to a bunch of internet websites doing their best to fool you into thinking their words were true, and TORn is no different. We did post two separate stories that were lacking in the veracity department. One post claimed we were moving to a paid subscription business model, which on it’s own is intriguing, but because some message board members were involved, there were links to supporting messages. In fact, the bulk of the story sounded quite reasonable, until you got to the highest subscription level, ‘Mithril’ and one perk is the ability rent a Nazgul, for no more than 2 hours a year, and the reminder to book early for the Halloween timeframe and that TORn is not responsible for terror or destruction. OK, that last bit had me cackling, anyone else? No? Just me then.

The other story, believe it or not, actually fooled our own, beloved Webmaster Calisuri. He can be forgiven, it was clear a lot of people wanted the story about Guillermo Del Toro working on the Amazon Middle-earth stories to be true, which is what made this story so much more believable. There was nothing outlandish in the story, it was about a current subject that TORn had just covered the week before at Wondercon, and it fed into the deep fan desire to see the Middle-earth that could have been. And while we want to come clean with you, the readers of our little website, we especially want to reach out to Guillermo Del Toro to assure him there was no malice intended with this April Fools joke. We knew fans would fall for it, or want to fall for it, because GDT is so beloved as a storyteller and creator of amazingly detailed creative worlds, and in the end, the reach of this story just says how much GDT is appreciated in this fandom. This guy wasn’t fooled.