One does not simply walk into Mordor, right? Well, now you can with this new fitness challenge app from The Conqueror. You can also run, cycle, or even swim your way to Mt Doom.

The Conqueror specializes in virtual fitness challenges that allow people to gamify exercise and map their progress to different virtual scenarios such as scaling Mt Fuji, or Mt Everest, or walking the Great Wall of China.

For their newest offering, they’ve teamed with Warner Bros. Consumer Products to give people the opportunity to virtually replicate Frodo and Sam’s mammoth trek all the way from Bag End in The Shire to the fires of Mt Doom.

The Conqueror's THE LORD OF THE RINGS Virtual Challenge Series
The Conqueror’s THE LORD OF THE RINGS Virtual Challenge Series.

There are five successive challenges in the new Lord of the Rings series, each unlocking the next as it’s logged and completed by participants on the app. The app uses a custom-made map of Middle-earth app to track and display progress, taking participants on an immersive journey to destroy the One Ring.

Basically, if you’re looking for Lord of the Rings fun while getting healthier and more fit, this could be just the thing for you. It does cost money, but it also comes with some pretty sweet swag as well.

You can check out the app and sign up here.

lord of the rings virtual challenge

Bootnote: When some fans reached out to us with news of this new LOTR-based fitness app, we decided to take the step of confirming its authenticity and reached out to The Saul Zaentz Company, the current holders of The Lord of the Rings merchandising rights. They have assured us that this is an official product that is properly licensed via Warner Bros. Consumer Products.

Posted by Staffer Demosthenes

Saul Zaentz Co., has filed two trademark applications covering a pair of phrases now associated with Amazon’s forthcoming TV series: “Rings of Power” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”.

The company is the current owner of exclusive worldwide rights to motion picture, merchandising, stage and other rights in certain literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien including The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. It also announced in early February that it was putting all those rights up for sale.

The trademark applications, which were filed with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) on April 5 through German intellectual property specialists Boehmert & Boehmert, cover a wide array merchandising for goods and services under different categories.

The EUIPO filing on “The Rings of Power”.

Closer examination of the two filings, however, reveal that the key crossover between the two seems to cover electronic downloadable and online games and trading cards under Nice categories #9 and #41.

Whether that indicates that a Rings of Power-associated video game might be in the works as part of some partnership with Amazon remains to be seen. But, since the Saul Zaentz Company holds in perpetuity the trademarks on all the characters and places in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, it might have to be involved in merchandising deals.

The EUIPO filing on “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”.

The news of the filing first emerged on the Reddit forum Leaks and Rumours.

Our friends at Diamond Select Toys are announcing the next two figures in their The Lord of the Rings action figure line. Fans can start looking forward to adding Aragorn and a Moria Orc to their Middle-earth action figure collections. These figures, like the previous, will have multiple points of articulation, detailed sculpting, and paint applications. Aragorn includes a torch, his ranger sword and the sword Anduril, while the orc includes a sword, a spear, an alternate helmeted head, and removable shoulder armor, so you can customize different orcs! These two figures will come in with a price tag of $29.99 like the rest of the line – and, like those earlier figures, they include parts which can be assembled to build your own Sauron!

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Diamond Select Toys Aragorn and Moria Orc Figure Announcement”

Our friends over at BudK have an absolutely fantastic new version of Anduril that fans can order right now. This Museum Collection edition of Anduril features a 1060 high carbon steel blade, with (their website tells us) several improvements over the standard version of the sword, to more accurately replicate the hero filming props. The surface polish is finer, the engraved blade runes are more accurately shaped and detailed, and the fuller grooves are now the correct length. Each sword is individually serial numbered on the blade and includes a certificate of authenticity.

A 14 1/8” wooden wall display offers an intricately detailed gold-plated metal crest and gold-plated sword mounting arms, and also includes a Gondorian themed blue cloth banner to be hung behind the display. The display and banner feature the ancient heraldry of the Kingdom of Gondor: a flowering white tree of Gondor, the seven stars of Elendil, and a winged crown above them, the symbol of the king. The Museum Collection Anduril is considered the ultimate piece of the United Cutlery Museum Collection to most The Lord of the Ring collectors. Pre-order yours today to ensure you’re first in line for this long-awaited treasure. Anduril comes in with a price tag of $449, and fans can expect to have it around the end of November this year.

Last year we launched our Collecting The Precious Podcast, and were able to film 2 episodes before 2021 ended. Today, we bring you the third episode of our little collectibles chat. In episode 3, we were able to get Ben back with us, and we’re really really grateful that he was willing to take time out of his schedule to sit down with us. In this episode, we talk about price, edition size, and “value”, and really how subjective these three things are, as we collect these absolutely fantastic pieces. This was a set of topics I wanted to chat about, since it’s something that comes up all the time over the years and has been a point of contention I think, as prices rise and new companies like Prime One enter the game. I hope you all enjoy this one, and thank you for the support! Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Collecting The Precious Podcast Episode 3”

Twenty years have passed since we all first visited Peter Jackson’s vision of Middle-earth; to celebrate the anniversary of the release of The Fellowship of the Ring, our friends at NZ Post have released a very special coin. Here’s what they tell us about it:

NZ Post's twenty dollar coin, showing the nine companions, or members of the Fellowship of the Ring. The image is surrounded by dwarven runes; and in English, we can read 'The Fellowship of the Ring 20th Anniversary Twenty Dollars'. The coin is mostly silver in colour; behind the silver portraits of the Fellowship, New Zealand's mountains can be seen in blue and white, and a blue sky above them.

“20 years ago, on 19th Dec 2001 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring premiered in Wellington, New Zealand nine days after the red carpet was first rolled out for the world premiere in London.

NZ Post will release a special coin featuring the members of the Fellowship:

“Nine Companions” coin

  • 5oz silver proof coin (Worldwide limited mintage: 300)
  • 1kg silver proof coin (Worldwide limited mintage: 100)
  • Minted from 0.999 silver, this coin features the nine characters who form the Fellowship in The Fellowship of the Ring. In the film, wizard Gandalf, men Boromir and Aragorn, elf Legolas, dwarf Gimli and hobbits Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin set out on a dangerous journey to Mount Doom in the land of Mordor, the only place where the One Ring can be destroyed to bring peace to Middle-earth. Behind the characters the coin shows a glimpse of the Misty Mountains (the South Island’s Southern Alps). Elvish text surrounds the central image, and the coin is finished with elegant gold plating on the rim. On the obverse, New Zealand is acknowledged as the home of Middle-earth with the fictional land’s name.

NZ Post is the exclusive issuer of New Zealand legal tender commemorative coins, in partnership with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

The coins have been designed by New Zealand artist Sacha Lees. Lees began her artistic career with a job at Wētā Workshop working on the Lord of the Rings trilogy as an illustrator, airbrush artist, creature designer and concept artist. Sacha is a highly accomplished New Zealand artist, who last year won the prestigious Adam Portraiture Award and was the 2020 New Zealand Portrait Artist of the Year.”

Check out NZ Post’s ‘Unboxing’ video, below. These fabulous coins are a strictly limited edition, so don’t miss out!