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.
For the next couple of years we’re in 25th Anniversary territory for Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movies. If you’re nostalgic for the heady days of epic fandom (and for some of us, obsession!), or if you are just curious about exactly how some of the legal wrangling went down, then you need to explore author Kristin Thompson’s The Frodo Franchise: The Lord of the Rings and Modern Hollywood. And it’s now available on Audible!
Thompson is a long-time friend of TheOneRing.net, often providing us with her expert insight into the machinations of the movie industry. Her book is a fascinating look at one of the very biggest of movie franchises/fandoms – and a wonderful trip down memory lane for those of us who remember all the excitement, build up, merchandise, etc. around the turn of the millennium and for a decade thereafter.
Thompson’s book is extremely well researched and full of facts and figures – but it’s never boring. Here’s what TORn wrote around the time that the book first came out:
Kristin Thompson interviewed seventy-six people to examine the movie’s scripting and design and the new technologies deployed to produce the films, video games, and DVDs. She demonstrates the impact Rings had on the companies that made it, on the fantasy genre, on New Zealand, and on independent cinema. In fast-paced, compulsively readable prose, she affirms Jackson’s Rings as one the most important films ever made.
Narrator ‘The Voice of Nick’ is very easy to listen to. The audiobook edition includes a new epilogue written for this release, in honor of the 25th anniversary of The Fellowship of the Ring movie. There’s even a section in the book all about the origins of TORn, plus coverage of the surrounding fan and media ecosystem (video games, licensed promotions, New Zealand tourism, and more).
A must listen (or read, if you prefer!) for any fan, we have five codes for Audible (US region) for free download, to giveaway to five lucky folks! To be in with a chance to be a random winner, click here. Good luck – and if you’re not a luck winner, get your Audible copy here.
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!
With the announcement of a second upcoming Lord of the Rings movie in the works written by Stephen Colbert, Philippa Boyens, and Peter McGee,and the release of its synopsis, speculation about what the movie will be about is only just beginning.
Stephen Colbert in his “Lord of the Rings” fan film “Darrylgorn“
The synopsis in the Warner Brothers and New Line Cinema press release about The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past is: “Fourteen years after the passing of Frodo – Sam, Merry, and Pippin set out to retrace the first steps of their adventure. Meanwhile, Sam’s daughter, Elanor, has discovered a long-buried secret and is determined to uncover why the War of the Ring was very nearly lost before it even began.”
For reference, let’s take a look at the timeline that is mentioned.
3rd Age 3021/Shire Reckoning 1421, September 29: “Frodo and and Bilbo depart over Sea with the Three Keepers. The end of the Third Age.”
Fourteen years after Frodo’s departure means the movie takes place in S.R. 1435/Fourth Age Year 14.
Elanor the Fair is born March 13, S.R. 1421, the same year that Frodo sets sail for the Undying Lands. Her birth day is also the start of the Fourth Age of Gondor.
In book canon, Elanor will be fourteen years old at the time Shadow of the Past will take place, giving the film a young female Hobbit lead.
