Funko have taken the collectibles world by storm. Every time you look, there seems to be a new addition to the range, which you just have to have! Today, we can exclusively reveal a new figure they are adding to their REWIND collection – one which we know for sure will be of interest to The Lord of the Rings fans.
If you are not already familiar with Funko’s REWIND range, here’s the official word about it:
In collaboration with Blockbuster, the retro entertainment products offer collectibles and packaging fashioned around the iconic home video retailer’s design, allowing fans to tap back into the joys of the prime VHS era. Expanding the collectibles footprint, Rewind figures differ from the typical Funko Pop! aesthetic, celebrating the nostalgia and overall creativity of the ‘80s, ‘90s and ‘00s. Fans have the opportunity to relive the cherished memory of renting a movie on a Friday night with family and friends with a collectible encased in VHS-type packaging (unique to the IP) and a membership card designed to mirror Blockbuster’s memorable design.
The latest addition to these products is the dark lord himself: Sauron. Here’s what we know:
MSRP: $11.99
Description: Wield the power of the One Ring™ and expand your The Lord of the Rings™ collection with REWIND Sauron™! REWIND collectible comes in VHS-inspired packaging with a matching character card! There’s a 1 in 6 chance you may find the chase of Sauron™ with Eye of Sauron™. Vinyl figure is approximately 3.7-inches tall. Collectible case is approximately 5.85” H x 3.6” W x 1.65” D. Chase variants are shipped at random. Receiving a chase with purchase is not guaranteed.
If you can’t wait to get your hands on this fearsomely cute version of the Lord of the Rings himself, the good news is that you can find Sauron now at Funko.com.
We’ve teamed up with our good friends at Oscha, who are exclusively licensed to make a range of Middle-earth™ inspired goodies, to giveaway this beautiful throw!
Inspired by the classic illustrations of Middle-earth, this stunning pattern was hand drawn by Oscha’s designers and shows Mordor™ to The Lonely Mountain™, and from the Belegaer™ sea to Forodwaith™: the length and breadth of Middle-earth.
If you’re a regular TORn follower, you’ll have seen Oscha’s treasures before – we’re huge fans of their stunning work. We’re also very excited that their Oscha Wear range is back, including clothes for Men, Women, Children and a range of baby grows! Check out the entire collection here. Just in time for holiday shopping!
The giveaway for this gorgeous throw is open worldwide; Oscha will choose a winner a random, and will ship to that lucky person wherever in the world they may be!
To be in with a chance of winning simply sign up here.
Thegiveaway ends 10am ET (3pm GMT), November 3rd. The winner will be contacted by Oscha.
If you’re a regular reader here at TORn, you know by now about composer and sound engineer Jordan Rannells’ immersive audio soundscape of music and ambient sounds, bringing to life Middle-earth. His soundscape is designed to be listened to whilst reading The Lord of the Rings – and in fact, is timed perfectly to fit with Andy Serkis’ recording of the books.
The Hobbit and The Silmarillion
Following the success of his Long-Expected Soundscape, Rannells is at it again! This time he’s tackling two more of Tolkien’s works, in epic scale. Read on below to find out what Rannells told us about his latest projects.
A new kind of Middle-earth experience for Hobbit Day
Jordan Rannells composed an original score, designed sound FX and recorded nature ambience to match all 60+ hours of Andy Serkis’ The Lord of the Rings audiobooks. Each moment is timed exactly so that when you hear Serkis describe Grond tearing through the gates of Minas Tirith, you hear it happening; when the eucatastrophe happens, we hear its theme; when the water of Wellinghall rains down around us, we hear it come and go. It is so simple to put the Soundscape together with the audiobooks, but you can also listen without them and just escape to Middle-earth any time you need to. Listen to the wind in the grass on your way to Edoras; hear the turmoil in the score as Boromir confronts Frodo; duck as the wings of the fell beast fly over you.
Rannells uses Dolby Atmos to achieve the highest level of 3D immersion possible, using the latest technology and sound design tools used in big franchises like Marvel, Game of Thrones and more.
Now, after spending a year and a half designing his first soundscape experience, An Unexpected Soundscape and A Soundscape of Eä are on the way. The Hobbit and The Silmarillion are next on Rannells’ journey, as he seeks to complete the Legendarium in this new immersive adaptation.
Listeners will be able to hear the dwarves as their barrels crash by; catch whispers of Gollum and the spiders of Mirkwood; witness the Coming of Tuor to Ulmo, and even the creation of Arda itself. New challenges present themselves in bringing the up-close-and-personal world of The Hobbit to your ears, such as recording movement and footsteps for each of the dwarves. Then, in the opposite direction, large scale and epic abstract sound design are required for moments in The Silmarillion.
Jordan Rannells
Find out more about Rannells’ epic undertaking on his website. You can also experience the first chapter of the Long-Expected Soundscape on his YouTube channel. Celebrate those Baggins’ birthdays surrounded by the sounds of Middle-earth!
An exclusive sneak peek at some of the wild new playable cards in The Lord of the Rings x Magic: The Gathering holiday updates, courtesy of Wizards of the Coast. You’ve never seen Magic cards like these!
Announced at MagicCon Vegas this weekend, the hugely successful MTGxLOTR is getting a new creative expansion including these new borderless poster art cards. These playable cards include all the necessary details, from the cost at the top right to the effect description hand written. These new cards will be available randomly in the new Holiday Collector Packs.
We got the opportunity to ask art directors from Magic: The Gathering, Sarah Wassell and MTG Hall of Famer Mike Turian, about these new wild designs.
What inspired this path of creativity in the cards?
Sarah Wassell – “The LOTR poster art style is specific to a style of band poster that emerged during the counter culture movement in the US in the 1960s (Seymour Chwast, Pushpin Studios, etc etc. There was a three book LOTR set published with amazing cover art by Barbara Remington that was a cult hit on US college campuses in the 1960s. This surge of interest fed directly into cultural moments with stadium rock bands referencing Tolkien in their lyrics in the 1970s. It’s incredible, the far-reaching effect of LOTR on fantasy and art and music, and we loved taking the space to honor one of the more surprising areas of Tolkien fandom through these “band posters.” And we love the chance to turn Magic cards with all their rule and mechanics into full poster art—it’s such a mind-bending way to approach a format that is so rigid that the elements can disappear through familiarity. “
These look unlike any other MTGxLOTR cards so far. Are they part of a broader artistic trends you are seeing come up?
Wassell – “Hopefully, the broad trend is that we continue to surprise and delight fans! Our goal for Magic art is to always work from a place of passion for the storytelling and characters and find new ways to visually express the lore of the set through connections to pop culture and all kinds of unexpected, nostalgic, or beloved ways of depicting the Magic sets we love so much.”
What has been the biggest surprise so far since initial release of LOTR?
Mike Turian – “The biggest surprise for me is just how the 1 of 1 Ring took on a life of its own. When we were making the card, that was always the vision behind doing a singular card to celebrate Magic and The Lord of the Rings coming together, we wanted to create something that would capture the imagination of fans and bring a piece of the novel to life. Still though, to see how it really did take off was something spectacular. And then, to actually have it pulled out of a pack, and ultimately end up in the hands of a superstar celebrity musician who loves playing Magic, I can’t imagine a better ending to that story!”
How do you find such creative artists?
Wassell – “We try to stay engaged in what is popular and exciting with fan art and pop art. We research art history and then approach our searches from current working artists who are inspired by exciting moments in art’s past. Mostly, we try to start from the source material of our internal world building team and game designers to amplify the exciting moments in a Magic set through the art that excites and inspires all of us in our day-to-day online and IRL journeys.”
Release Date
The new packs for The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth Holiday Edition release November 3. Look for pre-orders through your favorite local game store.
Artist and friend of TORn Jerry Vanderstelt had the amazing Salvation at Mount Doom Master Collection piece by Weta Workshop on display at his booth, during San Diego Comic-Con 2023. If you’re like me and were blown away by that statue, then I bet you were equally as blown away by Jerry’s Salvation at Mount Doom print, which takes that moment and renders it in an amazing art piece.
Jerry as usual knocked it out of the park with this print, and even though I won’t be owning the Master Collection piece from Weta Workshop, the art print will be taking a spot in my collection. You can get this print right now – but the amounts available are limited, so don’t delay! The price of this beautiful print is between $85-$530, depending on what size you get.
During San Diego Comic-Con 2023 this year our friends at Diamond Select Toys had several new collectibles for fans to contemplate getting when they are available for order. Two of those pieces were the awesome Gandalf the White Gallery Diorama, and the Aragorn Gallery Diorama. This is a new line of collectibles for the DST The Lord of the Rings line, with them both being around 9″ tall. You can order both right now via the DST site, with Gandalf coming in at $75 and shipping in quarter one of next year, and Aragorn coming in at $59, with him shipping in the back half of this year.
