Already a week has passed since Middle-earth March Madness for 2026 came to a close. Thanks to all who voted, discussed, debated, and generally played along! This year our theme was ‘Clash of the Collectibles’; our team of volunteer staffers offered their own favourite collectibles, and then we voted to get that down to 64 items, which became our opening bracket:
Three weeks and six rounds of voting ensued. With thousands of votes placed throughout the contest, we saw items we thought might go all the way – such as LEGO sets and Weta environments – fall in earlier rounds. Finally, just two items remained…
Stained glass vs DVDs
Talk about a David and Goliath match up! Some of the best selling DVDs of all time – the extended editions of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, in box set with collectible statues – versus hand-made, original designs from an independent artist, Geek Orthodox.
At first the contest seemed like it was going to be fairly one-sided, with the DVDs taking an early lead. Gradually, though, the stained glass came back. The final vote margin was 56% to 44% , with the winner being…
Congratulations to Geek Orthodox! A worthy champion, as a creator of unique, beautiful pieces – check them out here.
Here’s how the completed bracket looked:
Thanks again to all who joined the fun. If you have ideas for a future March Madness theme, please let us know – email spymaster@theonering.net See you same time, same place, next year!
Don’t forget, you can always join the discussion with fellow fans, at the Collectibles channel on our Discord.
Middle-earth March Madness for 2026 is drawing to a close. We started with 64 items in our ‘Clash of the Collectibles’ themed contest; now just two remain. And it’s time for you to vote for the one you would like to see crowned Grand Champion 2026!
Argonath vs Argonath
The first semi final was between the only statuary piece to make it this far (the Argonath bookends) and the DVD box sets of Peter Jackson’s movies – which could have meant any of the extended edition box sets which came with statues, but we used The Fellowship of the Ring set to illustrate the bracket. So it ended up being Pillars of the Kings vs the colossi of the River Anduin (with some DVDs thrown in for good measure…)
If you think it seems unlikely that people would vote for Argonath alone over bookends PLUS movies, you’d be right! This rather unfair match up saw the box sets take almost four fifths of the votes.
A much tougher battle in the other Semi Final
There were two artisanal pieces in this dual – the Red Book of Westmarch prop replica from Magnoli Props vs the stained glass art of Geek Orthodox. Both stunning, both highly desirable pieces to add to any collection. It was certainly a tough battle. In the end, perhaps folks voted for original art over replica; whatever the reason behind the choices, Geek Orthodox won by 55% to 45%.
How the bracket looks for our final show down:
Championship Round
How to decide?!
Those DVD box sets include all the wonders of Peter Jackson’s movies (in extended format). Surely a must-have for collectors? But what if you’re a book purist rather than a movie fan? Geek Orthodox’s gorgeous, original art presents a different view of Middle-earth, unconfined by PJ’s vision and instead going back to the Professor’s words for inspiration. If you had to pick just one – do you go with movies and statues in a box set, so you can revisit the New Zealand version of Tolkien’s realm any time you want? Or do you adorn your home with beautiful representations of the places you visit between the pages; perhaps making a cosy room feel like your own slice of the Shire, ready for you to curl up with a book and head back to Arda? From a collecting point of view, which is more – shall we say – precioussss….?
It’s a tough choice – and it’s YOUR choice! Time to vote! But how does it work, I hear you ask. Simple! Click on the button below. This will take you to the voting site, where you can view the entire bracket, region by region. Click on FINAL 4 (at the right hand side) to open the final match up – and there place your vote in the Championship round. Let’s get voting!
You have until 5.45pm PT on Tuesday April 14th t o vote in this final Round. We’ll close voting during TORn Tuesday and then reveal the WINNER. What will be crowned Grand Champion? Place your votes now!
Let us know YOUR thoughts – join the discussion with fellow fans, at the Collectibles channel on our Discord.
The final battles have been fought within the four regions, and now we reach the semi-final in this year’s Middle-earth March Madness – Clash of the Collectibles. Who were the winners in each of the categories?Let’s take a look:
Connecting to Middle-earth through favourite figures
The final in this region saw the Argonath bookends take on Prime 1’s Balrog vs Gandalf, a piece which had been a surprise victor over Weta Workshop’s Master Collection ‘The Fellowship’. This time, however, its luck had run out – the Argonath bookends won, though with a margin of just 8%.
Argonath bookends
Experiencing Middle-earth in Print and Music
This seemed a little unfair: DVD Box Sets vs the movie soundtracks. If you have the DVDs, you get the films AND the soundtrack, so surely it’s no contest? Maybe – but even so, almost one third of votes placed were for the soundtracks. Howard Shore’s music is beloved indeed. Nonetheless, the Box Sets move on to the Final Four.
Semi Final sees Argonath against Argonath
Inhabiting Middle-earth through Environments and Replicas
Weta Workshop‘s Rivendell took on the Red Book of Westmarch prop replica – two stunning pieces, but only one can make the Semi Final. It was a very tough battle – votes went almost 50/50, and in the end there was just 2% in it! The Red Book (West)marches into the Final Four.
The Red Book
Playing in Middle-earth with toys, games and other curiosities
That Hobbiton Green Dragon mug is absolutely lovely – but Geek Orthodox is on a roll, and proved victorious once again, securing three fifths of the vote.
More incredible stained glass art
How the bracket looks now:
Final Four
It’s Argonath against Argonath – bookends vs DVD box sets with statues. The outcome of that dual is obvious, surely…? The other semi final sees two mighty masterpieces face off – the Red Book prop replica from Magnoli vs the stunning stained glass of Geek Orthodox. That is a tough choice indeed! Which would you want to see in the Final?
Time to vote! But how does it work, I hear you ask. Simple! Click on the button below. This will take you to the voting site, where you can view the entire bracket, region by region. Click on FINAL FOUR (at the right hand side) to open the semi final pairings – and there place your vote. Let’s get voting!
You have until the end of the day Friday April 10th to vote in Round Five; Saturday April 11th we’ll launch the GRAND FINAL, the winner of which will be revealed on TORn Tuesday next week. Which of the Final Four do you want to see as Grand Champion? Place your votes now!
Let us know YOUR thoughts – join the discussion with fellow fans, at the Collectibles channel on our Discord.
Already we’re down to just EIGHT items remaining in the Clash of Collectibles – this year’s Middle-earth March Madness. Here’s how the bracket looks:
Connecting to Middle-earth through favourite figures
Perhaps surprisingly, BOTH Weta Workshop items were defeated in this region, with the Balrog taking out the entire Fellowship, and the Argonath conquering Bilbo in Bag End. So now we see if Aragorn’s ancestors can beat the ancient, (winged?) demon.
Prime 1 Gandalf vs Balrog statue
Experiencing Middle-earth in Print and Music
Another upset of sorts here – both the Maps and Tolkien’s own art have fallen at this fence! So now we face a tough decision: soundtrack vs DVDs. If you had to save only one, which would you choose?
As it’s the DVD box set with statues, we’ve got two sets of Argonath in the Elite Eight!
Inhabiting Middle-earth through Environments and Replicas
Weta Workshop’s Rivendell survived the Sweet Sixteen round; their Edoras environment, however, was not so lucky! Now Rivendell faces off against the incredible Red Book of Westmarch prop replica.
The Red Book
Playing in Middle-earth with toys, games and other curiosities
This writer has been proved SO wrong. I thought LEGO Rivendell was almost unbeatable – but I’m delighted to see that the gorgeous stained glass art from Geek Orthodox has done it, and made it through to the Elite Eight! In the other pairing in this region, the Hobbiton mug vanquished the LotR Monopoly. Now I’m rooting for the stained glass to go all the way to be Grand Champion. But you may wish to vote otherwise!
More incredible stained glass art
How the bracket looks now:
Elite Eight Clash of Collectibles
Time to vote! But how does it work, I hear you ask. Simple! Click on the button below. This will take you to the voting site, where you can view the entire bracket, region by region. Click on each pairing of items, to view all the details – and there place your vote. Let’s get voting!
You have until the end of the day Tuesday April 7th to vote in Round Four; that evening on TORN Tuesday we’ll reveal the winners, and on Wednesday April 8th we’ll launch the semi-final! Place your votes now!
Let us know YOUR thoughts – join us on TORn Tuesday each week during the competition, and tell us how you feel about the choices so far. And if you want to discuss the votes with other fans, head on over to the Collectibles channel on our Discord.
Last week, as you know, Peter Jackson and Stephen Colbert surprised us all with the revelation that the next Middle-earth movie, to be made after The Hunt for Gollum, will be written by Colbert (together with his son Peter McGee, who is a screenwriter). It has been given the working title The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of the Past.
Two hobbits walk onto a Late Show set…
Though the exact reveal was a surprise, it was long-expected that Tolkien afficionado Colbert would take up some project associated with Middle-earth, once his Late Show comes to an end in May. Word has come to TORn, however, that Shadows of the Past is not the only Tolkien task the mega fan will have on his agenda come the Summer.
Colbert has often demonstrated his deep knowledge of the Professor’s lore and languages. Now we hear he’s going to put those skills to work, ‘re-translating’ the Red Book of Westmarch.
As readers will know, the Red Book is the ‘found manuscript’ which Tolkien created as an imaginary source for all his tales of Arda. Largely written by Bilbo and Frodo, there were also volumes of ‘Translations from the Elvish’ (by Bilbo), additions by writers such as Samwise, and even some records from Merry and Pippin. Further, the marginalia of the Red Book became The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.
The Red Book, as it appears in Peter Jackson’s movies
Just what would this task of ‘re-translation’ be?
The rumours our spies have brought us are unclear as to whether Colbert’s goal is to create a translation of all (or just some) of these works into Elvish – which would be a huge undertaking in and of itself – or whether he will seek to restore the ‘original’ manuscripts, which would require translating different volumes and passages into a variety of tongues of Middle-earth. The latter seems unlikely; Tolkien did not leave us with enough Westron for a translation of Bilbo and Frodo’s writings back to that language to be possible, without creating more vocabulary. Perhaps we should assume, then, that Colbert will be translating to Sindarin and Quenya – and possibly, therefore, only tackling the parts of the legendarium which are known to us as The Silmarillion.
Either way, this is a worthy project for an intellect and passion like Stephen Colbert’s. And – we’d like to suggest to Mr. Colbert that he make this a group project! We know that many fans have deep knowledge of the Professor’s languages; if the Late Show host would like to ‘share the load’, with individuals taking on a chapter each, many hands would make light work of such a gargantuan undertaking.
What do you think? Is such a re-translation even possible? Share your thoughts on our discord!
A week has already passed since we launched this year’s Middle-earth March Madness – and now the contest is down to just sixteen collectibles of special magnificence. Let’s take a look at the bracket now:
Connecting to Middle-earth through favourite figures
This region was really tough – sculptural masterpieces facing off! The Balrog defeated Sauron; Bilbo conquered a Ringwraith; and perhaps most surprisingly, the Argonath beat Theoden and Snowmane. Now we’re wondering who will win when, in a repeat of the scene from the story, the Fellowship take on the demon of the ancient world…
Argonath bookends
Experiencing Middle-earth in Print and Music
Well here’s a lesson in humility! The biggest defeat in Round Two was found in this bracket. To be fair, a t-shirt probably didn’t really belong in this group; but TORn’s Prancing Pony Club shirt couldn’t even muster 10% of the vote against The Lord of the Rings soundtracks. Harsh but fair.
Our Prancing Pony Club shirt – soundly vanquished!
Inhabiting Middle-earth through Environments and Replicas
The pairings in this region were very close; how does one choose between the Phial of Galadriel and the Arwen Evenstar pendant? The Noble Collection’s necklace was the ultimate winner; but there was only 10% in it. Even closer, only 6% separated the Illuminating Gandalf Staff from the Red Book of Westmarch replica; the highly detailed book survives to go up against Weta Workshop’s Edoras environment in the Sweet Sixteen round.
The Noble Collection’s Evenstar Pendant of Arwen
Playing in Middle-earth with toys, games and other curiosities
Can anything defeat the might of LEGO Rivendell? Surely a strong contender for Grand Champion this year, in this round the LEGO set easily conquered LotR Trivial Pursuit. Monopoly, however, held up the banner for board games, very narrowly beating the pinball machine.
Is Gandalf a pinball wizard?
How the bracket looks now:
The Sweet Sixteen bracket
Time to vote! But how does it work, I hear you ask. Simple! Click on the button below. This will take you to the voting site, where you can view the entire bracket, region by region. Click on each pairing of items, to view all the details – and there place your vote. Let’s get voting!
You have until the end of the day Saturday April 4th to vote in Round Three; on Sunday April 5th we’ll launch our Elite Eight round! Will your personal favourite for Grand Champion for 2026 still be in the mix? Do your best to make it so – VOTE NOW!
Let us know YOUR thoughts – join us on TORn Tuesday each week during the competition, and tell us how you’re making your choices. And if you want to discuss the votes with other fans, head on over to the Collectibles channel on our Discord.
