Fox Searchlight has unveiled the first trailer for TOLKIEN, a biopic that focuses on the life and times of Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien.
As directed by TOM OF FINLAND helmer Dome Karukoski, the upcoming drama explores the formative years of the orphaned author as he finds friendship, love and artistic inspiration among a group of fellow outcasts at school. This takes him into the outbreak of World War I, which threatens to tear the ‘fellowship’ apart. All of these experiences would inspire Tolkien to write his famous Middle-Earth novels.
Lead by Nicholas Hoult (MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, ABOUT A BOY), who plays the legendary LOTR scribe, J.R.R. Tolkien, the exploratory film also stars Lily Collins (MIRROR MIRROR) as Tolkien’s wife Edith Bratt, Tom Glynn Carne (DUNKIRK), Anthony Boyle (THE LOST CITY OF Z), Patrick Gibson (THE OA), Colm Meaney (CON AIR), Genevieve O'Reilly (ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY), Craig Roberts (SUBMARINE), Derek Jacobi (GODSFORD PARK), James MacCallum (BROKEN), and Pam Ferris (CHILDREN OF MEN).
David Gleeson and Stephen Beresford wrote the screenplay, while Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, David Ready, and Kris Thykier are set to produce.
In other Tolkien-related news, Amazon is poised to launch a new television series based on Tolkien's works, with plans to have the show focus on a young Aragorn, the heir to the throne of Gondor who remands himself to exile by traveling with the Rangers of the North. Portions of Aragorn's tale – particularly the bits that involve his romantic entanglements with Arwen, the Half-Elf daughter of Elrond and Celebrian – are said to have been inspired by the author's real-life relationship with Edith Bratt. For the time being, it remains unclear as to if Peter Jackson, helmer of THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE HOBBIT trilogies, will be involved in the making of the new series.
Meanwhile, TOLKIEN is set to rule theaters beginning on May 10, 2019.