The work of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien has become slightly well known around the world, inspiring legions of fans and generating one or two movies that you might have heard of. But what of Tolkien himself? His formative younger days are explored in a new film taking his name, and with Nicholas Hoult playing the man. You can see the first teaser trailer for the new drama below.
Tolkien follows 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.
We're also introduced to Edith Bratt (Lily Collins), a fellow orphan who JRR bonds with and would – spoiler alert – end up becoming his wife. There are naturally allusions to Tolkien's later masterworks all over the place here, which is perhaps not surprising given the impact his time in combat had on a certain ring-featuring series. And you'd better believe they play up the circular symbolism big time.
Tom Of Finland's Dome Karukoski is the director here, working from a script by David Gleeson and Stephen Beresford. Tolkien will venture to Mordor... Sorry, UK cinemas on 3 May.
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