Calling all Ringers heading to San Diego Comic-Con!
TheOneRing.net may be looking for a few good folks to help out at TheOneRing.net and Middle-earth booths during the show. If you love Tolkien, enjoy meeting fellow fans, and don’t mind lending a hand in the middle of Comic-Con madness, we’d love to hear from you.
Weta Workshop is kicking off the Summer in spectacular fashion with three brand-new Middle-earth collectibles that are sure to excite The Lord of the Rings fans and collectors alike.
Leading the charge is the long-awaited 1:6 Scale Gimli – Hunter of the Plains statue, which joins the Classic Series lineup, and finally completes the legendary Three Hunters display alongside Aragorn and Legolas. Capturing the fierce determination and indomitable spirit of the son of Glóin during the chase across Rohan, this beautifully crafted statue is a must-have for collectors who have been waiting to unite the iconic trio. Gimli is available for pre-order now for $399 and is expected to ship in Q1 of next year.
As we shared last week, fans can now start collecting figures from the 1978 Ralph Bakshi The Lord of the Rings animated film. The collectibles are made by our friends at Dark Horse Direct. Set One includes figures of Aragorn, Frodo, and Samwise – which are available right now to pre-order. We’re pleased to announce the folks at Dark Horse Direct have three more members of The Fellowship coming fans’ way.
Set Two of The Lord of the Rings series, which is available for pre-order starting today, includes Boromir son of Gondor, Merry, and Pippin. The size of the figures range from 5″ for the Hobbits to 7.5″ tall for Boromir. This set, like Set One, comes in with a price tag of $89 for all three statues. However, if you pre-order this set from Dark Horse Direct you can save $10 on your order; but that’s not even the best deal we have for you today in this announcement! When ordering both Set One and Set Two from Dark Horse Direct, fans can save $15! Set Two is due to ship in Q1 of next year.
One of the most popular Middle-earth exclusives at San Diego Comic Con every year is the amazing art that comes from our friend Jerry Vanderstelt. SDCC 2026 will be here in just a couple of months, and it’s time for fans who will be there to pre-order Vanderstelt’s SDCC 2026 Exclusive. Collectors can – for the first time ever – get Vanderstelt’s beautiful Rivendell art print in the 12×16 format. Only 400 fans who are going to be at SDCC can pre-order this right now and pick it up during Comic-Con, with the final 100 being saved to be sold during the show. Do not hesitate on getting this now, because it won’t last at the show – and at just $22, these pre-order ones will be gone long before SDCC rolls around!
Exciting news – just revealed today at CinemaCon, some information about Hunt for Gollum casting.
Ian McKellen and Kate Winslet confirmed – Winslet’s character is rumoured to be Smeagol’s mother, named here as Marigol. This is the first we’ve heard anything at all about Jamie Dornan – there was no hint of his casting as Strider! Plus, it’s interesting to note that the character is – accurately – here called Strider, not Aragorn; at this point in the history, King Elessar is pretty much only known as Strider.
So Leo Woodall, whom we suspected to be Strider/Aragorn, is in fact a character named Halvard. Is this a member of the Dúnedain? Perhaps based on the leader of the Grey Company, Halbarad? But then, why not just use the name from Tolkien, instead of adjusting it to Halvard? (Could this be to avoid confusion with the name used in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Halbrand?)
And can we assume that the ‘working title’ of The Hunt for Gollum has now become the definite title? So much to think about and discuss!
Release date of Dec 17 2027 was also confirmed. Can’t wait! Expect thoughts and reactions from TORn staffers; and you can join the chat on Discord to share the excitement of this breaking news!
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!
