The New Line Cinema photo of Aragorn with Anduril has seen a fair bit of analysis lately. Here’s some more from Ringer Spy Saruman – trying to pin down exactly where the shot location is supposed to be. [More] Spoilers!

The folks over at BitofEarth.net have posted some amusing promotional drawings for their show. If you’ve never imagined Gandalf in Dr Frank N Furter fishnets, wander over for a peek. Apparently tickets for their July 5 show are selling fast, so if you were thinking of going, act now. [More]

The New Line Cinema photo of Aragorn with Anduril has seen a fair bit of analysis lately. Here’s some more from Ringer Spy Saruman – trying to pin down exactly where the shot location is supposed to be.

Aragorn And Anduril

For some reason, I always assumed that the location couldn’t be nailed down, but Saruman did a little detective work, matching the background motifs in the shot with similar motifs in an old tents photo of taken way back in November 2000.

Camping Out

We now believe this old photo – taken by a New Zealand paper – shows the Muster of Rohan at the Dunharrow encampment. You can read all about that report, here.

Anduril Handover Evidence?

From the picture above, you’ll note the motifs match pretty closely. Additionally, in the left corner of the New Line photo, there appears to be a reddish curtain which could match the gatefold cloth entrance to the tents.

The suit of armour certainly appears to have the nasal bar on the helmet that we’ve come to associate with the Rohirrim, but I don’t think that alone can be regarded as conclusive. The armour hanging off a stand is something you could expect to see in a portable setting such as an encampment. Unfortunately, it’s too fuzzy to nail it down as belonging to a specific character – such as Theoden.

So, if the photo of Aragorn with Anduril is him receiving the reforged sword – and I think that it is – from either Elrond or Arwen, then this is more circumstantial evidence that the scene may well occur in Rohan before he takes the Paths of the Dead.

Lately it seems we receive Teaser Trailer rumours only to have them refuted hours later. Ringer Spy Mike, however, has just furnished us with the first hard evidence against the existence of a Teaser Trailer for RoTK.

He writes:

I am head projectionist at our local movie theatre, and today we received a tube with 3 rolled teaser posters for Return of the King. Also, included with the posters was a sheet from New Line Cinema that explains that it is the teaser for Return of the King, notes that it is not for internet use and should be displayed immediately, and THEN goes on to say “There will NOT be a teaser trailer this summer”.

RoTK Teaser Trailer Announcement

Update: Voronwe on Tolkien Online made a couple of very interesting points about this note. First, it has no logo or letterhead. It does, however, have a contact number which I have cropped off. Second – and much more pertinent – Karl Urban isn’t on the cast list.

Update 2: We’ve received two more copies of the note. Both copies have the same telephone number – and wording – on the contact section which I cropped out of the first.

I’ve compared the new ones pretty carefully to the original note we were sent – the details match as far as I can see – but they aren’t exact replicas with exact same smudges and so on.

We also received an independent confirmation on July 2 from another source. Ringer Spy Jeff – who contacted us about the T3 teaser trailer rumour got in touch with us again recently after being asked to investigate this rumour we were sent.

Someone on another board I’m on found some press bit from the UK saying the trailer would be attached to their release of The Hulk, which is July 18th, I believe. Mid-July is what everyone’s hearing, so it would seem that the best candidates for a US trailer release around that time would be Pirates (7/9), League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (7/11) or Seabiscuit. Remote possibilities include Bad Boys II (7/18) Tomb Raider II (7/25) or Spy Kids III (7/25).

The full trailer is apparently going to be released with New Line’s Secondhand Lions on 9/26.

This is what Jeff found out:

Date: Wed, 2 Jul 2003 23:59:22 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: ROTK Teaser Before T3

Well when I got to work today I talked with my manager, and she said that there’s not gonna be a trailer for ROTK until September, we got the posters today so I’m guessing there was something with them that said that. So it looks like no teaser, just a trailer after the summer.

DonDavis sends in word about the teaser and theatrical trailers for ‘Return of the King’, when we can expect them, and more intestingly WHAT we can see in the teaser! I’ve yet to confirm this is the real deal mind you, so take it all with a grain of salt. However, this news can be considered a Spoiler!! [More]

Update: Ringer Spy Mike and Ringer Spy Jeff have combined to land what appears to be a killer blow against any hope of an RoTK Teaser Trailer. Looks like we’ll all have to wait for the DVD stuff. [More]

DonDavis writes: My name ** and I work for ** and I have recently been looking at you website and have noticed that you have shown a lot of interest in the return of the king trailer. I can now tell you that a teaser trailer will be released buy the end of July and a theatrical trailer buy the end of September.

I have only seen part of the teaser trailer, it showed clips from Minas Tirith and the battle at the black gate. It also showed brief clips of Gandalf riding with a hobbit (Pippin?) through some woods and Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas in the mountain of Erech, But nothing of Sauron, if you were wondering.