The biopic centering on the author of the classic literature "Lord of the Rings" is due for release in theaters this coming summer. "Tolkien," which features "X-Men" star Nicholas Hoult in the titular role, will finally be released in theaters on May 10, 2019, after more than a year of production.
Fox Searchlight will distribute the movie that will highlight the life of the esteemed author. According to the Deadline, "Tolkien" is a story of friendship, artistic inspiration and love.
"Tolkien" will mainly focus on the character as a British youth who spent his high school years in South Africa, where he formed an uplifting and inspiring friendship that motivated him to write "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit." Just before World War I broke out, Tolkien formed a deep bond and friendship with some of his peers in school who have been regarded as outcasts. They saw the brewing war as a threat to their friendship because they would have to be drafted to defend their country or be forced to evacuate and move to a different but safer location with their families.
But the movie will also focus on Tolkien's relationship with his future wife, Edith Bratt, played by Lily Collins ("To The Bones"). According to Entertainment Weekly, Edith was the inspiration for the romance between Arwen the elf and the Aragorn the human in "Lord of the Rings." It's also the fodder for "The Silmarillion," which was a story Tolkien wrote about featuring Luthien and Beren, the elf and human that would be Aragorn's ancestors. Apparently, Tolkien referred to Edith as his Luthien in real life.
The film also stars Anthony Boyle ("The Lost City of Z"), Tom Glynn-Carney ("Dunkirk"), Patrick Gibson ("The OA"), Colm Meaney ("Con Air"), Craig Roberts ("Red Oaks"), Laura Donnelly ("Outlander"), Pam Ferris ("Queen Victoria"), Genevieve O'Reilly ("Rogue One: A Star Wars Story") and Derek Jacobi ("Gosford Park"). David Gleeson and Stephen Beresford wrote the screenplay, while Dome Karukoski directed the movie.
Tolkien is known as the father of modern literature. In 2001, director Peter Jackson turned his masterpiece into an Oscar-winning trilogy that, to this day, still wins over millions of followers and fans.
In 2017, Tolkien's estate announced it will be producing a TV show based on "Lord of the Rings" at Amazon. Production has not yet started on this series but it's been highly anticipated and expected to cost about a billion to deliver on the streaming platform.
