I’m generally immune to the messianic charms of most biopics, but the upcoming JRR Tolkien film, simply titled Tolkien , has me more than intrigued. Earlier this week, Variety reported that Lily Collins will play Tolkien’s “great love and eventual wife,” Edith Bratt.
We don’t know much else about the project about the project, but Variety notes writers David Gleeson and Stephen Beresford have penned a script that focuses on the formative years of the iconic author. Nicholas Hoult will play the author in the years just before the First World War.
In addition to giving audiences insight on the grim inspirations that moved Tolkien to craft The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings , the film will also explore the taxing effects war has on the band of outcasts in which he found inspiration and solace. The film will explore themes regarding loyalty and the trials of friendship, not dissimilar to the motifs established in Tolkien’s iconic fantasy epics. These, to me, are the ingredients of a compelling film. We all know Tolkien, the keen pipe-smoking Englishman with a flare for linguistics and mythology, but what was the literary genius like as a young man? What roused him and why? These questions become especially interesting in the context of one of the most somber periods of the 20th century.
Collins’ casting is important because Tolkien’s fascination with Bratt will be a key element of the film. Bratt is widely considered to be the inspiration behind a number of Tolkien’s fictional elven beauties, including Luthien, Tinuviel and Arwen Evenstar.
Alongside Collins and Hoult, acclaimed actor Anthony Boyle has been cast in an unspecified role. He may be one of the cronies Tolkien acquired during his time at King Edward’s School, but this can only be surmised at this point. There is a tremendous amount of talent attached to this project, and it has a genuinely gripping premise to boot.
Finnish filmmaker Dome Karukoski is set to direct and FOX Searchlight will distribute, though the film has no release date at this time. We’ll be sure to fill you in as more details begin to emerge.
