I will conclude this exploration of Tolkien adaptations in different media with a mention of Tolkien games, both physical and virtual. Of course there is a reciprocal interaction here, because Tolkien’s work was a huge influence on the development of the original Dungeons & Dragons gaming system in 1974, so much so that TSR was required…

Of course my site contains my own Tolkien fan fiction, of which there is a great deal online of varying quality (although I like to imagine my own attempts are creditable). But if I had an education in film production, I would be strongly tempted to try my hand at Tolkien fan films. These have…

After the wild success of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy in the early '00’s, it was perhaps inevitable that a stage adaptation would be created. And so it was in the 2006 production, The Lord of the Rings, which played in Toronto and in London. It seems to have been well received by…

We’ve all heard the news that Arnold will revisit his legendary role as Conan the Barbarian in a new movie called King Conan, currently in development, to complete a trilogy of Conan films after the 1982 and 1984 originals. Now it has been announced that he is in serious discussions about reviving his original roles…

There is a long history of animated Tolkien films stretching back to the established animation studio Rankin Bass' animated version of The Hobbit in 1977. This was followed by Ralph Bakshi’s infamous and sadly incomplete 1978 version of The Lord of the Rings, which seemed to inspire Rankin Bass to “complete” it with its own…

American comedian Stephen Colbert is well known for being a LOTR fanatic. It is just been announced that in collaboration with Peter Jackson, Colbert and his son will help script a new film to be produced called The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past. Few details are yet available about the film but…

Speaking of long-anticipated movies, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is on track to be released in 2027. A prequel bringing back many of the original cast members under the direction of Peter Jackson, it will be inspired by the appendices to the novel. Stay tuned for more updates and comments about…

Who else is excited that after a delay of almost five decades, we are finally getting a third Arnold Schwarzenegger Conan move? Great news for all Conan fans and fans of action-adventure and heroic fantasy films! This will finally round out the original John Millius film into a trilogy with actor and character continuity. Hopefully…

These fierce warriors play a role in the pivotal battle of Pelargir during the siege of Minas Tirith. But little is known of Umbar itself. It was in fact much older than all of Gondor’s cities save Pelargir, and its own people had no less Numenorean blood in them than the Gondor men. Yet of…

It is a well-known and seeming contradiction that the late J.R.R. Tolkien expressed complex and idiosyncratic political views, seeming to embrace both monarchy and anarchism at the same time. How these themes are woven into the history of Middle Earth has been much examined. But what of the nobility or peerage and the role they…