This was a week of special magnificence of LOTR news!
Lord of the Rings returns to cinemas
WB and Fathom Events kick of the #LOTR25 year of celebration by bringing the Extended Editions back to theaters starting today. Over the next couple weeks you have the opportunity to watch any of the Extended Editions on the big screen. Not limited to USA only, we have reports of many countries getting the cinema treatment too! Check your local theater listing or start at Fathom Events website.
AMC theaters will have a special Middle-earth Map popcorn tin, and Regal Cinemas have a ring themed 25th anniversay tin. Other cinema chains may have either, so check with your local theater.
Aragorn to be recast
With new LOTR films on the way from Philippa Boyens and team, it was inevitable that some conversations around recasting characters would occur. It seems that time has come as reports surfaced of auditions currently happening in London and Wellington to cast a younger Aragorn actor, said to be around Joe Keery’s age.
In Search of… Young Smeagol
Also being cast for the new “Hunt for Gollum” film directed by Andy Serkis is a young Smeagol and Deagol. Reports from Knight Edge Media are they are looking for children around 10 years old that can pass for Stoors, which Smeagol and Deagol were.
Mithril Cut, or the Extended EXTENDED Edition
EMPIRE magazine LOTR 25 tribute issue is out (Apple News+ Link) and biographer Ian Nathan got Peter Jackson to admit the long-rumored Mithril Cut of LOTR is dead and doesn’t exist. Although, just a paragraph later, PJ mentions a more definitive documentary that we first reported 10 years ago which WB needs to fund for completion. Word from insiders say that WB marketing are closely watching the fan reaction to the Mithril Cut news, so it may be a good idea to express yourself on social media!
Look for the EMPIRE LOTR 25 issue on Newsstands or places like Barnes & Noble.
Elijah Wood is coming to YOUR house for the Superbowl
Skittles candies have a contest running right now to send Elijah Wood to your house for the big game. Details here.
Another Tolkien Scholar sails west
This week we lost another cherished family member of the Legendarium. Author Walter S. Judd worked with his son on The Flora of Middle-earth, a defining text on the plant life of Tolkien’s world. Get a copy at Amazon or your local bookstore.
