EXCLUSIVE – Pippin as a ruthless leader? Alfrid the woodland elf? Colour us intrigued!
Billy Boyd (LOTR) and Ryan Gage (The Hobbit) star in a new fantasy feature film called WARLORD. Gamers may recognize the rest of the cast too – Jennifer English is Shadowheart in Baldur’s Gate 3, and Aliona Baranova is in Cyberpunk 2077: The Phantom Liberty.
Director & actor Stuart Brennan jumped into our instagram comments this week to let fans know the movie trailer “will release in a few weeks time.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE First Look: Warlord Brings a Gritty Wood Elf Fantasy Thriller to Screens This May
London, UK – February 20, 2025 – The highly anticipated fantasy thriller Warlord is set to premiere on May 15, 2025, ahead of its global release on May 16th, 2025. Helmed by award-winning writer-director Stuart Brennan (Kingslayer, Assassin’s Guild), Warlord promises a dark and immersive journey into a mystical forest realm where war, rebellion, and power struggles unfold in uncompromising fashion.
Starring an ensemble cast led by Billy Boyd (The Lord of the Rings), along with Ryan Gage, known for his role as Alfrid in the The Hobbit; Warlord delivers a fresh take on medieval fantasy. With cinematography by Doug Milsome BSC, ASC (Full Metal Jacket, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), the film boasts a striking visual aesthetic reminiscent of classic epic filmmaking.
Set in a world rife with injustice, Warlord follows a peaceful Wood Elf leader forced to take up arms against an oppressive Sheriff and his mercenaries. As rebellion stirs, alliances are tested, and the elves’ true motives come into question, setting the stage for a thrilling battle for justice and survival.
Director Stuart Brennan shares his vision: “I grew up inspired by stories like Robin Hood, and I wanted to craft a film that explores timeless struggles—oppression, resistance, and the cost of war. Warlord is an intense, character-driven journey that I feel is timely and dealing with themes that are current real world issues. Having been a big fan of Warhammer growing up, Wood Elves were always my army of choice and so getting a chance to bring wood elves into my universe has been particularly special.”
A first-look at the poster of the film has been released today with exclusive images of Billy Boyd as The Sheriff and Ryan Gage as The Brute. Brennan was very excited about the casting; “I love Lord of the Rings, so working with Billy was very cool. He’s incredibly detail orientated and a very prepared actor. He arrived on set excited to be playing a dark and richly complex character. We’d had a few video calls to talk through the part and once he was in costume, on location it was genuinely one of the highlights of my career being able to capture him bringing this role to life. It’s very different from anything he’s done before.”
This was the third movie he had got to work with Gage; “Ryan is a superb actor, he’s also very prepared, very specific and creative with his choices. He was one of the first people I sent the script and this character really jumped out at him. He’s a lot of fun in this movie, very dark, very wicked.”
Further details will be revealed in the coming weeks.
Join the fan conversation about all things Tolkien on Discord.
It’s one thing to just be a reporter who covered The LOTR Trilogy during it’s lengthy production — but it’s another thing entirely to be embedded in the mix for many years while publishing Sir Ian McKellen’s extraordinary stories on his evergreen website www.McKellen.com — and thus Keith Stern, webmaster and author, provides the goods in his NEW tell-all book: For Entertainment Only: Behind the Scenes of The Lord of the Rings. Next Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, there’s even a special Book Launch Party to be held at Hollywood’s famous geek destination Scum & Villainy Cantina!
Only someone who had been that close to the action, the many rehearsals, the Big-atures, and the gargantuan effort made by the Cast and Crew could have written such a revealing volume! What amazing stories Keith Stern has to reveal here!
In his words: “Delve into the captivating world of “The Lord of the Rings” with exclusive behind-the-scenes insights and anecdotes. Discover untold stories from the making of the iconic movies, featuring interviews and experiences ‘from one who knows,’ as endorsed by Ian McKellen himself. Available for pre-order now, this memoir by Keith Stern offers a unique perspective on the filming process and the journey of bringing Middle-earth to life.
Early KIRKUS REVIEWS are positively the best they could be — and they are known to be very tough critics:
A titillating, but never salacious, memoir from a music and movie insider’s perspective.
The above image is from May 25, 2011, Wellington NZ. Birthday party for Sir Ian McKellen. Peter Jackson previews some footage of THE HOBBIT for Stephen Hunter, Dean O’Gorman and Fran Walsh. Photo by Keith Stern “For Entertainment Only”
Continuing from their Kirkus Review: “As the author of the landmark 1993 book Queers in History, Stern has been at the forefront of promoting the biographies of LGBTQ+ luminaries, including that of his close personal friend Ian McKellen, who plays a central role throughout the book’s second half. The author’s stream-of-consciousness writing style offers an engaging read, and the text is accompanied by a high-resolution online photo gallery of snapshots taken by the author of Hollywood stars.”
Behind this nondescript door in Wellington, all kinds of amazing movie magic happened where KING KONG climbed and fell from the Empire State Building! Photo by Keith Stern: “For Entertainment Only”
As we get closer to the Party date (Nov. 12, 2024) more surprises and images will be revealed on Keith’s official FaceBook page here:
There are so many wonderful appearances in the pages of this volume from Rock & Roll stars and movie actors galore. What sets this remarkable book apart is the intimacy and self-awareness of the author himself — a man who worked hard to bring Sir Ian and his wisdom to all the fans waiting to hear from him during the earliest days of the Internet.
Clifford Broadway will be hosting an EXCLUSIVE interview with Keith Stern during next week’s broadcast of TORn Tuesday — so be sure to tune in for that livestream! If you are in Southern California on Nov. 12, 2024, then join us at Scum & Villainy Cantina, 6377 Hollywood Blvd. from 7pm until 9pm Pacific Time — for a smashing good party, free to attend! Books will be available and the author will be happy to sign copies.
The above photo shows us the 2001 Gandalf the Grey contact sheet. Photos by Pierre Vinet. Ian has marked with an X those that should not be used for publicity or marketing. His contract allowed him to reject a certain amount, about 1/2 but the rest were fair game for the studio marketing and publicity departments to use for posters, advertisements and illustrations.
The above picture: November 28, 2012, Wellington NZ: Elijah Wood on the red carpet for the premiere of “The Hobbit”. Photo by Keith Stern “For Entertainment Only”
If you’ve ever wished for “precioussss” versions of Gollum & Sméagol figures that capture every conflicted, crawling moment, look no further! Asmus and Sideshow have just dropped two stunning sixth scale figures, bringing The Lord of the Rings’ most tragic character to life. And thanks to Asmus, this marks an epic return to Middle-earth collectibles after a dark pandemic pause. In the words of Andy Hsu, Director of Asmus Toys: “Characters that were promised, were anticipated, that were wished for, are now back on the menu!”
Starting with Gollum: this 20 cm figure has over 22 points of articulation for all those sinister, slinking poses we know and love. With a smirking expression, rotatable eyeballs, and haired hobbit feet, Gollum is ready to stir up trouble on your shelf. And no Middle-earth journey is complete without provisions – this little guy even comes with wrapped and unwrapped Lembas bread accessories.
Then there’s Sméagol — the tortured soul behind the sneer. Sméagol’s innocent, haunted expression captures the side of him that Tolkien fans cherish. He has the same exclusive Gollum body by Asmus, complete with seamless limbs and multiple hands and legs to bring his story to life.
So, if you’re ready to give these two a home, both Gollum and Sméagol are up for grabs, allowing fans to continue this adventure together with Asmus and Sideshow. And by purchasing through our links, you’ll support TheOneRing.net.
Available for pre-order from our friends at Weta Workshop is this beautiful statue depicting Radagast the Brown in Rhosgobel. This piece is superbly done, as usual, and perfectly recreates the quirkiness of Radagast and his home. There’s also a very cool easter egg that represents the beautiful place in which the films were made, New Zealand. You can pre-order this amazing piece for $999.
If you have been collecting the classic series, then this second statue of Radagast is for you. This classic series piece is available for $399. Both Radagast statues are due to ship in the first quarter of next year.
For lovers of the monsters of Middle-earth, who need a little eight legged friend in their collection, you could grab the very cool mini-Shelob statue for $179, this statue is also due to ship in the first quarter of next year.
If you have read The Lord of the Rings, there is a good chance that you skipped over one or more of the 75 songs and poems in J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic. Yet long before he was the “father of modern fantasy”, Tolkien’s great ambition was to be a poet.
He wrote hundreds of poems throughout his life, running the gamut from playful limericks to lengthy verse epics in Old English alliterative meter (verse that focuses on alliteration, the repetition of consonant sounds in two or more words or syllables). But despite his prolific poetic output, Tolkien remains best-known for his prose. Published by Harper Collins, The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien – the first tome to bring together all of his poetry – will not alter its author’s reputation as a storyteller first and foremost, but it will offer readers illuminating new insights into this oft-neglected side of his personality.
This new book has been in the works since 2016, when Christopher Tolkien sent editors Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull several folders of his father’s unpublished poetry. Hammond and Scull are two of the world’s most respected Tolkien scholars, having written painstaking reference works such as the J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide (2017) and The Lord of the Rings: A Reader’s Companion (2008). They have also edited previous works by Tolkien, including the short poetry collection The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (2014).
Between them, Hammond and Scull have precisely the obsessive eye for detail and encyclopaedic knowledge of Tolkien’s corpus required to pull off such an undertaking. And once you hold this deluxe, three-volume, 1,500-page tome in your hands, you will grasp just how monumental an undertaking it is.
The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien contains nearly 250 individual works spanning more than five decades, 70 of them previously unpublished.
Hammond and Scull do not present the poems as standalone texts. They meticulously document the manuscript history of each poem from initial fragments to final drafts, tracing their evolution over the course of years or even decades.
This is because Tolkien would frequently return to the same poem throughout his life, revising and reworking it over and over – much as he did with his literary mythology.
The Sea-Bell is a perfect example. In 1934, Tolkien published a poem in The Oxford Magazine entitled Looney. It describes a man’s voyage to an enchanted other-world and his desolation upon returning to ordinary life afterwards.
Almost 30 years later, Looney underwent major redrafting to become The Sea-Bell, which was published in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil in 1962. The poem’s basic narrative arc remained the same, but the imagery was darker, more evocative, more devastating. The protagonist is utterly cut off from his contemporaries, with no words to communicate an experience they cannot understand.
But The Sea-Bell is not merely a revision of its predecessor. Looney was conceived and published as an independent work. In The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, on the other hand, The Sea-Bell is framed as a text written by an unnamed hobbit within Middle-earth, which Tolkien had discovered and translated for modern readers. This conceit invites readers to put the poem in direct conversation with the themes of melancholy and sea-longing which run throughout The Lord of the Rings.
By charting how the poem and its context changed over time, Hammond and Scull show how its meaning changed too.
Many of us live with a nagging sense that industrialised modernity has cut us off from the cosmos, from nature and from our authentic selves. The Romantics and their inheritors believed that art could reconnect us to what is deepest and truest in ourselves and in the world around us – could re-enchant the world.
This is one way to read Tolkien’s entire literary project. He suggests as much in his famous essay On Fairy-Stories (1947).
Eminent Tolkien researcher Verlyn Flieger reads The Sea-Bell as a profound expression of disenchantment, a reflection perhaps of Tolkien’s service in the first world war. But the powers of re-enchantment are at work elsewhere in his work, in the elven-realm of Lothlórien for instance. This dialectic of disconnection and reconnection lies at the heart of Tolkien’s enduring appeal.
As The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien attests, that same dynamic is at play in his poetry as much as his prose. But be forewarned: this book is not for the faint of heart. Its massive scope, and the academic presentation of the material, are better suited to the Tolkien scholar than the casual reader – certainly not the one who leapfrogs the songs in The Lord of the Rings.
But if you, like me, feel a compulsion to own everything released under the professor’s name, that is hardly going to stop you.
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
TheOneRing.net will be at Griffith Park Sunday, September 22nd, starting at 11:30am to celebrate Bilbo and Frodo’s birthdays with a picnic and festivities. Please join us if you are in the area!
This is a Potluck, so please bring a food item to put on the community potluck table–main courses, sides, snacks, fruit, salads, sweets–anything is welcome. We will also need plates, cups, napkins, utensils, etc. but check the Facebook sign-up so we don’t end up with too many. And if you have an ice chest to help keep beverages cool, fill it with ice and bring it along. Please RSVP in the discussion section on Facebook (see below) with what food, beverage or picnic supplies you plan to bring.
CAKE CONTEST: Instead of an official birthday cake, there will be a competition for everyone to show off their baking skills. All cakes and cupcakes designs with a Baggins Birthday or Middle-earth theme will be entered into the contest. Put your creative thinking caps on!
You can find detailed event information and a section to RSVP on Facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/events/8264139026978984/ Please read the About info, and open it to reveal more because there is a lot of info in there, including driving directions. If you don’t do FB, RSVP to Garfeimao@TheOneRing.net with what food or other supplies you will be bringing.
WHAT TO BRING (Besides food): As you can see from the above image, portable chairs, pop up tents, blankets, sunscreen, hats, sunglasses are all standard. Bring a cloak because it can be surprisingly cool some years.
COSTUMES: Any and all cosplay is welcome and encouraged. You can wear a full set of armor, dress like a Hobbit, or turn to the dark side. If you just want to wear a geeky themed shirt, that’s okay, too. Anything is welcome, but be forewarned, there is usually a costume contest, so be creative.
SKITS: If time allows, there will be a chance to do your rendition of Gollum, act out a scene from the films, read a poem or book passage, or sing a song. So figure out what you want to do and practice ahead of time.
TRIVIA CONTEST: Brush up on your Tolkien Trivia, the competition is usually fierce, but it’s a lot of fun, and everyone is welcome to participate.
Hope to see you all there this year! Don’t forget to check the Facebook page for more info.
Additional note: There is a second Hobbit event planned somewhere in Griffith Park on Sunday. If their signage does not say Baggins Birthday Bash or TheOneRing.net, they are not our Baggins Birthday Bash. This other event will be charging for attendance, and as you know, for the past 23 years, we’ve always been free. As long as you follow the directions to the Mineral Wells location we’ve been at the past decade or more, you will find your TORn Sibs waiting for you.
Also, kids and pets are welcome, we are always a family-friendly event. Dogs must be leashed, and we suggest you bring a water bowl for your pet. It is predicted to be quite hot that day.
