As many of you will know by now, Fathom Events are bringing us special screenings of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Extended Edition, to celebrate the film’s 20th anniversary. On April 13th and 19th, Ringers in the USA – and April 20th for fans in Canada – can gather together to bask in the glory of Middle-earth on the big screen once more.
Any opportunity to see part of Peter Jackson’s trilogy in cinemas is a cause for celebration. To make these screenings even more special, they will also include a recorded introduction from the Ring-bearer himself, Elijah Wood! He’ll be sharing his insights and reflections on the movie’s legacy, in a special message made possible by Legion M and Lost Odyssey.
From the official press release:
Prior to each screening, attendees will be treated to a special introduction by franchise star Elijah Wood, as he discusses the lasting impact of the “Lord Of The Rings” universe and the rich worlds and beloved characters that keep viewers coming back for more. Fans will also be treated to exclusive coverage of the new “Lord Of The Rings” tabletop game, as a celebrity panel embarks on their own adventure into Middle-Earth to raise support for Extra Life For Kids, in conjunction with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
If that isn’t enough good news – Fathom Events have given TORn pairs of tickets to either of the USA screenings, to give away to some lucky fans! To enter the giveaway and be in with a chance to win tickets to a theatre near you, simply click below:
You have until 5pm EDT April 11th to enter! If you don’t want to rely on luck, you can purchase tickets to screenings near you here. Gathering with fellow fans, watching The Return of the King on the big screen, with special messages and previews? It’s like it’s 2003 all over again. My friends, this will be a night to remember…
Los Angeles, CA – Amazon Studios has announced that Orlando Bloom, break-out star of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, will appear in the next season of the The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Credit: Samir Hussein, Wireimage
Developers J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay confirmed that Bloom will appear in the second half of the season as Oropher – the grandfather of Legolas.
“J. D. was chatting with Orlando at an industry event and Orlando said that he wished he could step back into Middle-earth because he’d had so much fun the first time around,” said Patrick. “We put our heads together and came up with a way to have him play his own grandfather. This actually works well as Orlando is 25 years older than he was when the Fellowship of the Ring was filmed. Therefore, he’ll bring more depth and gravity to Oropher.”
Oropher was a Sindarin elf who led his people north to lands around the Mountains of Mirkwood. His motive was to move out of range of the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm and avoid the threat of Mordor. If the series continues through to the Battle of Dagorlad, we’ll get to see Oropher’s final battle and death.
Patrick wouldn’t give details of Oropher’s story arc but a source told TheOneRing.net that the character will be involved in the Silmaril storyline.
A separate source claims that Elijah Wood has also been approached for a cameo. However, John Rhys-Davies has flat-out refused to be involved in The Rings of Power because he “wouldn’t wear those bloody prosthetics again for all the jewels in Moria. Ishkhaqwi ai durugnul!”.
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.
On April 1, 2023, Twitter is sunsetting Verified blue checkmarks from the previous 15 years. Many actors, writers and production people were verified to prevent spoofing and shenanigans, so fans could be safe and secure knowing they are following the real person and not a fake or bot. Since most are expected not to pay for a bluecheck going forward, here’s a handy list of all (we believe!) the official Twitter accounts of people involved with The Lord of the Rings:
LOTR fans started to embrace twitter as a community platform during The Hobbit years, ultimately helping #VoteBilbo win an MTV Movie Award. Twitter became the default social network for many fans over the years, including the most recent focus on (and disagreements over) The Rings of Power. Billionaire Elon Musk bought the website in 2022 and spent the first 6 months downsizing the company and free features, making blue-check verification pay-to-play instead of on merit. Many celebrities deal with imposters on social media, tricking fans into giving money to fake accounts. It is generally expected that with the removal of “fame” verification, there will be more copycat accounts showing up. As Gandalf would tell us, ‘Be on your guard!’
Hey y’all , I’ll loose the blue tick on Saturday I’m opposed to spending money on social media . I’ll go checkless . Please be careful of Imposters & money soliciting scams . I will never ask you for money on any social media platform . Cheers ✌🏽K
If we missed anyone, let us know in Discord and this post will be updated with the official accounts of our favorite LOTR people.
Update 21/04/2023: It appears that Nazanin Boniadi no longer has a presence on twitter. The best way to find Boniadi’s official online presence is probably via https://nazaninboniadi.com/. Thanks to Mirthfather on our Discord for the heads-up.
The amazing folks at Diamond Select Toys asked us if we would be interested in showing off some of their awesome figures as a preview. That was a quick yes, as their figures are very well done and are great collectibles for fans of Middle-earth.
If you went to, or watched, any coverage of Comic-Con from last summer, you would have seen the concepts of these two figures on display. Today, we’re pleased to share with you the final images for the new Boromir and Lurtz figures.
These figures are available for pre-order on Friday January 20th at the Diamond Select Toys website for $29.99 and you can expect to add these to your collections in the fall.
Both CRIMES OF THE FUTURE and THIRTEEN LIVES featured the Aragorn actor in top fashion, yet there was no fan discussion nor viewership numbers worth reporting from any studio. Taking into consideration this was the year of the inescapable RINGS OF POWER, the most expensive TV season ever telling the story of Aragorn’s heritage, we have to ask: what happened?
source: THR
Crimes of the Movie Going
Viggo Mortensen re-teaming with Howard Shore should be enough to grab any LOTR fans attention, then add in that it’s David Cronenberg returning to his shock-scifi roots. There should be an ongoing buzz about this in 2022 right? But CRIMES OF THE FUTURE came and went with barely a whisper. According to Rotten Tomatoes it is a respectable 80% Fresh, and JustWatch says it is currently streaming on Hulu.
Not only does it have a new Howard Shore score (who has worked with Cronenberg on most of his films), CRIMES OF THE FUTURE is the fourth collaboration between the director and Mortensen – who was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for their hit EASTERN PROMISES. Yet there’s been close to zero conversation on our message boards or twitter feed, as if nobody gave this film a try.
To be clear, Cronenberg films can an acquired taste and you the viewer should be prepared for full dark, body-shock genre storytelling. This movie was never going to be a blockbuster, but with a very fervent fanbase for both LOTR and Cronenberg and Shore, it’s surprising this film didn’t find its footing in cinemas or streaming.
THIRTEEN LIVES, NO THEATERS
The other Viggo Mortensen film that should have been a huge 2022 hit is THIRTEEN LIVES, directed by Ron Howard and co-starring Colin Farrell and Joel Edgerton. Critics and audiences agree that this is a great movie! An all-star cast, story ripped from the headlines, with one of the top directors of all time. It also was the best test-scores in MGM studios history.
THIRTEEN LIVES tells the story of the cave-diving rescue of a team of kids stuck underground in a Thailand monsoon. There’s also a meta-cultural touchpoint since this is the rescue event where Elon Musk called rescuers horrible names and promised a technological solution that never materialized, and Elon is one of the most talked about persons on the internet in 2022 with his takeover of Twitter. So between cultural relevance, meme opportunities, a real human story of heroics, epic test scores, this had all the hallmarks of a huge box office hit. Plus, THIRTEEN LIVES is produced by Amazon Studios, home to RINGS OF POWER.
We can guess why this film was direct-to-streaming, as Amazon wants people to sign up for Prime Video. But this film is a perfect theatrical experience where every thrilling hold-your-breath moment would be shared with strangers in a dark cinema. Prime Video has stated it still believes in theatrical distribution with its recent acquisition of MGM studios, so why didn’t this get a summer release? Top Gun Maverick is Tom Cruise’s biggest film of his career, while WB released several blockbusters on both HBO Max and theaters simultaneously.
Why wasn’t THIRTEEN LIVES put in theaters?
Why didn’t Prime offer this movie after each episode of RINGS OF POWER?
Why did Amazon make a movie with Isildur’s heir, in a year with their show about Isildur, and not promote it?
Does this movie show up in your Prime dashboard after watching the entirety of Rings of Powers?
Viggo Mortensen is turning in some of the best performances in 2022. As the movie industry enters awards season, maybe these films will get renewed interest and some nominations. Fans of Viggo Mortensen should definitely give THIRTEEN LIVES a go on Amazon Prime, and if you can stomach a jaunt with CRIMES OF THE FUTURE on Hulu.
With many new Lord of the Rings projects on the horizon, maybe there’s room for Viggo Mortensen to direct, write, score or star in more Middle-earth. Amazon or Embracer, give him a call.
