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Since at least his appearance in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, Karl Urban has been building quite the impressive resume, particularly carving out a niche for himself as a fan favorite in the Sci-Fi and Fantasy space. Although Urban hasn't quite become a household name in the same way some of his co-stars have, he continues to get pretty significant roles in high-profile movies and TV shows.

Some of the highlights of Urban's filmography from the late 90s to now include:

• Julius Caesar in the Sam Raimi-produced Hercules and Xena shows

• Éomer in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings

• Vaako in The Chronicles of Riddick

• Bones in the J. J. Abrams Star Trek reboot series

• Skurge the Executioner in Thor: Ragnarok

Additionally, Urban has found major success on a streaming series in the lead role of Billy Butcher on Amazon's adaptation of The Boys. Fans...

Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy may be the gold standard for that hallowed fantasy saga, but it isn't the first attempt to adapt J.R.R. Tolkien's famous three-part narrative into a cinematic format. There have actually been quite a few different iterations of that story, some relatively good, some bad, and some downright terrifying.

Among the entries in the Middle-earth annals that fall into that last category is a 1990s gem that came straight out of the Soviet archives. This utterly unique adaptation is titled "Khraniteli" (which translates as "The Keepers" or "The Guardians"). It was produced by Leningrad Television and came out on April 13, 1991, just eight months before the dissolution of the Ussr.

"Khraniteli" was technically released as a children's television program and was considered lost media for decades — until it resurfaced when 5Tv, Leningrad Television's successor, re-released it online for all the world to see in the 2020s.

Actors get different paydays depending on a variety of circumstances. A well-established A-lister can demand a lot of zeroes on their check and even dictate unique contract terms. That's how Sandra Bullock got a huge payday for "Gravity" through a 15% share in the profits. When actors are earlier in their careers, though, they often settle for less money in exchange for experience, enhanced resumes, and the ability to partake in special projects. That was the case for many of the actors who signed up for Peter Jackson's massive "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

In an interview with Business Insider on the red carpet for the 2025 Texas Film Awards in Austin, Frodo actor Elijah Wood (of current "Yellowjackets" fame) became the latest Lotr alumni to address rumors about his Middle-earth payday. Some gossip claims he made around $250,000 for "The Fellowship of the Ring" movie alone. Another version of the...

Exciting news from far over the misty mountains as a new update regarding the Lord of The Rings prequel, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, has emerged from dungeons deep and caverns old. The celebrated trilogy from Peter Jackson has become an international phenomenon and ushered in a fellowship of spin-off projects, including The Hobbit prequels and The Rings of Power on Amazon Prime, which has been renewed for a third season. The latest update from the Tcu (Tolkien Cinematic Universe) is that the new film centered around Gollum, directed by and starring Andy Serkis, is now extremely close to getting a script.

According to Deadline, Warner Bros Pictures co-chairman/CEO Pam Abdy just got a "dynamite check-in" with Philippa Boyens, who is currently penning the Hunt for Gollum script.

"Adding to things we’re excited about, Andy Serkis doing the Gollum film...We just had a...

The Accountant Rental Hit(Photo Credit –Facebook)

Back in 2017, The Accountant wasn’t just another action-thriller; it became the most-rented title of the year, and for good reason. Ben Affleck took on the role of Christian Wolff, a math genius with a dark side, balancing high-level calculations with deadly combat skills. As Wolff navigated the world of high-stakes crime and tax fraud, Affleck’s portrayal turned heads for its raw intensity and unexpected depth.

The film was a wild ride, mixing precision with chaos, kind of like Affleck’s career choices (who else could star in Argo and Batman v Superman?). While the story kept audiences on edge, the real magic came from Affleck’s performance. The Accountant wasn’t just a hit at the box office; it made its mark in the rental world, proving that a man of numbers could still steal the spotlight, and our rental receipts!

Directors are the unsung maestros of moviemaking—the ones pulling the strings while the stars soak up the spotlight. Sure, actors get the glory, but it’s the person behind the lens who orchestrates every frame, decides every shot, and shapes whether a movie becomes a masterpiece or a mess.

But every now and then, the minds behind the magic step out from behind the camera and into the spotlight. Sometimes it’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo, other times they go full Clint Eastwood and headline their own films. Whether it’s a cheeky Easter egg, a symbolic gesture, or just plain “hey, they’re great on screen too,” these cinematic geniuses know how to steal the scene—even when it’s not their job to.

In this list, we are diving into 15 directors who not only brought their vision to life but even sneaked in a little screen time of their own,...

George R.R. Martin clearly has had enough of your incessant reminders about him finishing The Winds of Winter. Yes, he knows he’s very late, and yes, he knows you’re all angry, but the writer has reasons why he’s taking too long to finish the novel.

On social media, fans have started complaining about how the world has already progressed drastically—we’ve started embracing AI technology, suffered from and survived a pandemic, and now, dire wolves are back in existence—and yet, Martin’s sixth book is still nowhere near finished!

George R.R. Martin reveals the real reason why he hasn’t finished The Winds of Winter

George R.R. Martin has a lot on his plate as an author, a producer, a businessman, and a husband. With so many responsibilities on his shoulders, he has to divide his attention and tend to every single one of them.

Those paused Citadel spinoffs, Citadel: Honey Bunny and Citadel: Diana, are now officially canceled.

Instead, the second seasons for each of those shows will just “be woven into the upcoming second season of the mothership series Citadel,” Amazon MGM Studios’ head of TV Vernon Sanders said on Wednesday.

The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news that Citadel season two was being pushed and its spinoffs were placed on hold. At the time, THR was told by two sources that Amazon MGM executives were unhappy with what they saw for season two of the Og Citadel.

Citadel hails from Joe and Anthony Russo’s Agbo, though it was Jennifer Salke’s idea. It was the recently-ousted Salke who first approached the Russo Bros. with the idea to create an expansive, expensive globe-trotting spy franchise — Amazon’s version of James Bond. But now Amazon has control over the actual James Bond, and...

Andy Serkis has lined up a leading role in an upcoming animated TV movie. The Lord of the Rings star is the latest cast member added to the upcoming children's special A Lamb’s Stew.

Filmmaker Joeri Christiaen recently premiered an extended teaser for the project at the Cartoon Forum in Toulouse, France, but is now expanding A Lamb’s Stew into a half-hour special. Christiaen is working in collaboration with Julia Smuts Louw (Star Wars: Visions) on the screenplay.

Andy Serkis Lands Leading Role in New Animation Project

The voice cast for A Lamb’s Stew features Serkis as the voice of the Wolf, along with T’Nia Miller (Sex Education) and 11-year-old newcomer Iris Onyejiuwa, according to Variety. The mid-length animation is based around a little lamb named Billie attempting to prove the bravery of her species by luring a wolf into a trap. However, Billie discovers she has...

Fans rise up to support Le Sserafim in face of criticism(Photo Credit –Instagram)

In the first weekend of Coachella 2025, many K-pop artists, including Blackpink’s Lisa, Jennie, Enhyphen, and Xg, performed on stage and won hearts. While everyone has been praising this year’s performances, last year, Le Sserafim received a lot of hatred and criticism because of their vocals and alleged use of a backing track. However, this year, the usage of backing tracks seemed more common.

So, fans have now come forward to extend their support for the band, Le Sserafim, and surfaced that the K-pop group deserves an apology from everyone for all the hate. Now, netizens believe that many K-pop artists have used backing tracks for their sets with varying levels of volume. Scroll ahead to know more about it.

People have taken X (previously known as Twitter) by storm after the first weekend of Coachella 2025 ended,...

Fans are conversing about Blackpink Jennie and Lisa’s feud(Photo Credit –Instagram)

Blackpink’s Lisa and Jennie both have owned the stage at Coachella 2025 as solo artists, but fans were busy spotting their interactions at the event amid their ‘feud’ rumors. Apparently, when Lisa was performing, Jennie didn’t attend her show but instead went to watch Lady Gaga’s set. However, during Jennie’s performance, Lisa and Rose cheered for her the most from the audience.

Amid all of their “bad relationship” rumors, this incident gained a lot of attention from netizens. Many shared video clips on X (previously known as Twitter) where Jennie can be seen enjoying Lady Gaga’s show from the audience, whereas Lisa was also one of the performers that night. Netizens tried to prove the point that one Blackpink member ditched another Blackpink member just because of Gaga.

A lot of netizens took...

G-Dragon wraps up Good Day after Kim Soo-Hyun gets edited out of final episode (Photo Credit – Instagram)

After the 8th episode of the star-studded variety show Good Day, G-Dragon bids farewell to it. The show concluded its production after airing the final episode on April 13, 2025, at 9:10 pm Kst. However, the last episode didn’t feature Kim Soo-Hyun at all as the actor was edited out of it because of his controversies involving Kim Sae-Ron. For the unversed, the Queen of Tears actor was allegedly accused of dating Sae-Ron when she was a minor, sparking debate over his choices. The late actress’s family members even claimed that he tried to extort money from her as well, which led to her death.

Even though Soo-Hyun held a press conference to clarify his side of the story, many brands, many celebs have discontinued their bond with the actor. G-Dragon and the...

While Frodo is the most popular Hobbit in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy (based on the novels by J.R.R. Tolkien), fans are slowly coming to realize that Samwise Gamgee was the true hero of the story. Just as Frodo and Sam embarked on a perilous journey to Mount Doom, Sean Astin (who played Samwise in all three movies) recently revealed he had his own internal struggle during the film's production, one which led him to panic attacks.

Sean Astin recently reunited with his former Lord of the RIngs co-stars, Elijah Wood, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, John Rhys-Davies, and Andy Serkis, at C2E2 in Chicago. During the panel, the actor opened up about the emotional struggles he faced during the trilogy's lengthy production. "I remember at one point, most movies, even a big movie they used to be like 3 months or 4 months," Astin began. "When we got to 5 months,...

Idris Elba Darth Vader (Photo Credit – Instagram)

True this: Idris Elba, the man with the voice that could make even Darth Vader sound soft, stepping into the dark side of the Force. Well, Star Wars fans came this close to seeing Elba as the most feared villain in the galaxy. And honestly, had he suited up in that black armor, Star Wars would’ve still been just as legendary, but with a whole lot more swagger.

Elba’s career has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. From BBC roles in Crimewatch to turning heads in The Wire as the smooth-talking Stringer Bell, he’s built a name for himself as one of Hollywood’s most versatile and commanding actors. But what if he had channeled all that charisma and raw power into the Star Wars franchise? Imagine Elba’s deep, velvety voice, not just narrating, but commanding the galaxy. That...

Ben Affleck MCU Interview (Photo Credit – Wikipedia)

Ben Affleck’s connection to Daredevil is something that’ll never be forgotten by comic book fans. Back in 2003, he took on the role of Matt Murdock in Daredevil, a film that didn’t quite land with critics but still holds a special place in the hearts of many fans. His portrayal of the blind lawyer turned vigilante didn’t have the same cultural impact as the MCU’s later heroes, but it definitely helped lay the groundwork for superhero films in the early 2000s.

Since then, the character of Daredevil has seen a massive revival, most notably in Netflix’s 2015 Daredevil series, which redefined the character as darker, grittier, and more mature. Despite the gap between his turn as the Man Without Fear and the more recent versions, Affleck’s time in the red suit remains iconic, and it’s clear that...

The first Lord of the Rings film from Peter Jackson is just one year shy of celebrating the 25th anniversary of when the Fellowship of the Ring was first brought together on-screen. Made up of nine adventurers of varying races and backgrounds, with nine acclaimed actors embodying them, including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Sean Bean, and more, the group has become one of the most memorable and likable bands of heroes ever to grace theaters, thanks to the camaraderie formed throughout their journey to destroy the One Ring. Filming the trek through Middle-earth, however, was just as much of a connection-building adventure, according to Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan, In an interview with Collider's Mike Zimmerman for their reality series Billy & Dom Eat the World, the pair reflected on their favorite memories from the production, both during filming and behind the scenes.

Monaghan and Boyd played the iconic...

Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy has turned out to be one of the greatest film trilogies ever made. In its wake have come other iterations of Middle Earth, with the most recent being the animated film The War of the Rohirrim and Prime Video's hit show Rings of Power, which has been renewed for a third season. There is yet another project that will emerge from Middle Earth, and it is centered on one of the Third Age's most consequential characters. Andy Serkis, who portrayed Gollum in the original Lord of the Rings movies, will reprise his role in a new live-action film, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, which he will also direct.

The new Middle Earth project will be produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, and Pam Abdy, co-chair/CEO of Warner Bros. Pictures, has offered an exciting update on the film.

The Lord of the Rings is arguably one of the greatest works ever written, and when director Peter Jackson decided to transform the written words of J.R.R. Tolkien into an on-screen adaptation, the trilogy he created went on to live up to the legacy of the novels. The trilogy created by Jackson was a compilation of brilliant performances from several actors, including Andy Serkis, who plays Gollum/Smeagol. The character first appeared in The Fellowship of the Ring, and bringing the corrupted hobbit to life meant a reliance on motion capture, which was not entirely mainstream at that point.

A recent Lord of the Rings reunion panel at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo meant several of the trilogy's stars reminisced on making the Oscar-winning films. Per PopVerse, Serkis revealed the reaction the cast, crew, and Jackson had when they first encountered his portrayal of Gollum/Smeagol on set. "These guys...

Merry and Pippin are some of the best characters in The Lord of the Rings, so it is no surprise that Billy Boydand Dominic Monaghanare fan-favorites among the cast. Now, with their new show, Billy and Dom Eat the World, we get to see them doing what Merry and Pippin do best: Eating. In preparation for the show's release, Boyd and Monaghan sat down with Collider's Michael Zimmermann to talk about the series, and if you loved these two Hobbits who loved little more than getting a pint with the fellowship, then you're in for a treat!

During the interview, Zimmerman asked why they were so passionate about the project, and Boyd pointed out that it is a great way to interact with others. He told Collider:

"I think it’s a great way of meeting people and looking at people’s passions is through food. Why does someone open a restaurant,...

Fans react to Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet’s Coachella 2025 romance(Photo Credit –Instagram/Facebook)

After appearances at the 2025 awards season, the couple enjoyed some low-key dates as well as a tropical vacation. Now, Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet are partying it up at the 2025 Coachella.

The model and the actor were spotted in California as they hung out with friends and attended concerts. One special performance was of Charli Xcx during which they looked happy and in love as they held hands, kissed and indulged in public display of affection. Fans were quick to notice details.

Kylie Jenner & Timothee Chalamet Party At Coachella 2025

Kylie was spotted hosting an event at the music festival for her alcoholic soda drink Sprinter. She wore a lovely yellow latex dress and promoted her brand. Later, she was spotted living it up with her boyfriend. She wore a white white crop top with white...

Did Sarah Jessica Parker actually eat a real spider for Hocua Pocus?(Photo Credit –Prime Video)

Turns out, the Sanderson sisters didn’t rely on movie tricks to bring their witchy weirdness to life. Back in 2018, the cast reunited for the Hocus Pocus 25th Anniversary Halloween Bash on Freeform. That’s where Sarah Jessica Parker casually dropped the bombshell. When asked about that infamous bug-chomping scene, she confessed (reported by Cheatsheet), “I really did eat the spider.” Yep, she went full witch mode.

The moment flashed by quickly in the film. Parker’s character, Sarah Sanderson, spotted a spider, giggled, and chomped it like it was candy corn. Viewers assumed it was movie magic. But this was the ‘90s, things got practical. That bite wasn’t acting. It was commitment.

The Halloween Bash special, hosted by Halloween-obsessed Vanessa Hudgens, was loaded with nostalgic goodies. Fans got musical numbers, glam costumes,...

Did Blackpink’s Lisa and Rose cheer for Jennie’s solo at Coachella 2025?(Photo Credit –Instagram)

Blackpink’s Jennie is one of the most popular K-pop idols who has dominated millions of hearts globally. On April 13, Jennie owned the stage at Coachella 2025 like a stunner and wooed everyone at the concert. She finished the first lineup of K-pop performers for the first weekend of Coachella. From setting a bar with her stylish outfits to giving an unforgettable performance, she stole the limelight, for sure. But what was even crazier was her surprise element with Kali Uchis.

People have been going crazy ever since her performance was announced at Coachella 2025. All day, ‘Jenchella’ was trending on social media platforms even before she took the stage at the event. It was one of the most anticipated performers yesterday, and she sure did make a difference with her set. But the amazing part...

Is Talk To Me a must watch for horror fans? (Photo Credit – Prime Video)

Talk To Me, a 2023 indie hit, has been resurrected on the streaming platform Netflix (in the US) and Amazon Prime (in India), in fact, it’s spreading like wildfire. Viewers are flooding social media with reactions, urging others to hit play because this one hits differently.

A Party Game Turns into a Nightmare

The story of the movie hooks you fast when a group of teens get their hands on a creepy embalmed relic, which is literally a hand that can summon spirits. What starts off as a twisted party trick quickly spirals into a nightmare when one of them pushes the limits and breaks a crucial rule – the 90-second possession window. Any longer, and the spirit may not leave and of course, as per the law of horror movies, someone overstays their welcome.

At the...

What makes Toilet-bound Hanako-kun a total must watch? (Photo Credit – Prime Video)

It’s easy to scroll past Toilet-bound Hanako-kun, while raising an eyebrow at the name and assuming the worst. And who wouldn’t? A ghost in a school bathroom doesn’t exactly scream “must-watch.” But for those who’ve dared to look beyond the title, what they’ve found is one of the most spellbinding anime experiences in recent memory. It is a strange, beautiful blend of whimsical art and haunting emotion that refuses to be boxed in by convention.

A Surreal Visual Experience Like No Other

As July 2025 approaches and the second part of season 2 prepares to air, there’s never been a better moment to revisit or discover for the first time what makes this series tick. Hidden beneath its oddball moniker is a world where pastel colors and thick lines wrap around stories of loss,...

Which 1939 movie still holds an unbeatable box office record? (Photo Credit – Prime Video)

In an era of billion-dollar blockbusters, IMAX screens, and global releases spanning over 100 countries, it might be easy to assume that the biggest box office hit of all time is a recent CGI-heavy spectacle. Films like Avatar and Avengers: Endgame have dominated headlines and shattered records since their release and are hailed as the pinnacle of cinematic commercial success. But when the numbers are adjusted for inflation, the true champion isn’t blue-skinned aliens or Marvel superheroes. It’s a sweeping epic from 1939 that continues to wear the crown.

Released more than eight decades ago, Gone with the Wind still stands at the summit of box office history when ticket sales are calculated with inflation factored in. It was a cinematic phenomenon in its time, and its popularity has endured across generations, despite the cultural conversations it continues to ignite.

Did Leonardo DiCaprio jump into a frozen water? (Photo Credit – Instagram)

While shooting Don’t Look Up in Boston, DiCaprio didn’t just play a climate-conscious astronomer, he straight-up lived the panic. In a now-iconic chaos tale from Entertainment Weekly’s Around the Table, Jennifer Lawrence dropped the icy bomb: one of DiCaprio’s huskies fell through the ice. He dove in to save it. The second husky? Immediately followed. Suddenly, it was a full-family plunge into freezing water. “We were all in the frozen lake together,” Lawrence said. DiCaprio later admitted, “[Living in California] I didn’t understand what you do at a frozen lake.”

And no, none of that was in the script.

The actual film followed DiCaprio and Lawrence as two astronomers trying to warn a very unserious planet about a very real comet. Basically, an extinction-level event that people chose to meme instead of stop. A not-so-subtle jab at climate denial,...

Did Tom Hanks reject Charlize Theron? (Photo Credit – Wikipedia/Instagram)

The movie was That Thing You Do!, a musical dramedy about a one-hit-wonder band in the 1960s. Theron wanted the lead. Hanks passed. His reason? “You’re too much of a supernova to play Faye.”

That wasn’t just a creative choice, it was instinct. Tom Hanks saw the firepower in Theron long before the Academy did. She auditioned for Faye, the soft-spoken, supportive girlfriend of the band’s frontman. Hanks liked her, but he saw something else. Something bigger.

“Charlize read on the very first day that I read actors,” Hanks told The Ringer. “She said, ‘Listen, I know I can play Tina, but I want to play Faye.’ I said, ‘I get that,’ but what I was thinking in my head was, ‘You’re too much of a supernova to play Faye.’ Casting her was such a coup.

As the format continues to gain traction, here’s our regularly-updated list of upcoming 4K Ultra HD disc releases in the UK.

Sitting alongside our list of upcoming DVD and Blu-ray releases (that you can find here), we’re also keeping a calendar for those who support the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc format. As we learn of new UK releases, we’ll add them to this list.

We have started adding shopping links too. We’d be obliged if you clicked on them, as it really helps us in our quest to make the Film Stories project of magazines, website and podcast profitable. We’re a 100% independent publisher, and we quite like drinking coffee. It’d be lovely to afford some more.

Without further ado, here are the titles we know about…

Out now

17th March: Yojimbo & Sanjuro double set

17th March: Thirst

17th March: Harlequin

17th March: The Penguin...

Why Did Christian Bale Say Heath Ledger’s Joker Ruined His Plans? ( Photo Credit – Facebook )

Christian Bale played Batman in what many fans called the gold standard of superhero cinema. But while the world raved about The Dark Knight, Bale quietly walked away feeling like his own performance missed the mark. And the reason? Heath Ledger.

In a surprisingly candid throwback interview with Yahoo!, Bale admitted, “I didn’t quite manage what I hoped I would. Chris did, but my own sense of self is like, ‘I didn’t quite nail it.’ Heath turned up and just kind of completely ruined all my plans. Because I went, ‘He’s so much more interesting than me and what I’m doing.” That line said with a touch of admiration, captured the shockwave Ledger’s Joker sent through Gotham and the film itself.

When The Dark Knight hit theaters in 2008, it exploded past the comic book mold.

The scripts had been sent. The inboxes were silent. And that silence nearly broke the Game of Thrones showrunners.

Season 8 of Game of Thrones already rattled fans, but turns out, it shook the cast too. One actor, after (not) reading the final scripts, freaked out the showrunners so badly they thought they messed up big time.

A still from Game of Thrones | Credits: HBO

The actor’s silence had them questioning everything they wrote. The chaos wasn’t just on-screen; it brewed in the writers’ room too.

Kit Harington’s silent reaction nearly sent the showrunners into panic mode Kit Harington in Game of Thrones | Credits: HBO

David Benioff and Dan Weiss admitted they got seriously spooked after sending out Season 8 scripts to the cast. Kit Harington, the face behind Jon Snow, didn’t respond at all. During an interview with EW, Weiss recalled thinking, as anxiety brewed harder than...

Why Did Cillian Murphy Skip Science Lessons During Oppenheimer? ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

Cillian Murphy didn’t need to crack equations or study nuclear physics to become J. Robert Oppenheimer. Instead, he locked in on the man himself – haunted, brilliant, and deeply conflicted. While most actors might’ve dived headfirst into science prep, Murphy refused.

“I’m interested in the man and what [inventing the atomic bomb] does to the individual. The mechanics of it, that’s not really for me,” he told The Guardian. He admitted he skipped science lessons altogether, saying, “I don’t have the intellectual capability to understand them.”

For Cillian Murphy, it was all about emotion over education. And that choice made sense, considering who was directing. Oppenheimer marked his sixth collaboration with Christopher Nolan, but he took center stage this time. The film, based on American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, told the story of the...

Does Adrian Brody regret skipping The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring? ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

The Oscar winner, Adrian Brody, admitted he didn’t quite get what he was being offered, and by the time he figured it out, it was already lighting up box offices and changing fantasy cinema forever.

Brody spilled the regret in a throwback chat with GQ (via The Hollywood Reporter), saying producers approached him for the Peter Jackson epic, but he just wasn’t feeling it. “I, somehow, didn’t grasp it,” he said. “I don’t know what part I would have been right for, but it was some Hobbit-like character. I was looking for something else.”

Translation: he wasn’t chasing hairy feet and wizard quests back then.

But his “what was I thinking?” moment hit hard later. He remembered in the same interview sitting in the theater with his then-girlfriend,...

In the 2010s, the biggest show on TV was Game of Thrones, HBO's adaptation of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire books. The show was like The Lord of the Rings, because it was a tale of epic conflict in a medieval mileu. Only it wasn't like The Lord of the Rings at all, because the characters spent more time fighting each other than they did otherworldly forces of evil. The cast was way bigger, the story more sprawling, and everyone spent a lot more time naked.

Also there weren't any elves. Anyway, Game of Thrones was a monster hit, and other studios took notice. Netflix was the first to get their competitor out there: in 2019, the same year that Game of Thrones ended, it debuted The Witcher, a high fantasy series based on a series of books by Andrzej Sapkowski. Amazon Prime Video went hard...

Andy Serkis will be returning to Middle-Earth in 2027 when The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is set to be released in movie theaters. The project was first announced in 2024 and not only will Serkis be reprising his role as Gollum/Smeagol, he will also be directing the movie, which will be produced by Peter Jackson.

Per PopVerse, during a Lord of the Rings reunion panel at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2), Serkis gave an update on the progress of The Hunt for Gollum. At the panel, which also featured John Rhys-Davies, who played Gimli in the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, Rhys-Davies asked Serkis about the status of the movie.

“Andy, how’s the film coming on?” Rhys-Davies asked Serkis during the panel. To which Serkis replied, “The new film? Which new film? Not The Hunt for Gollum film. Do you want me to...

Before Andy Serkis’ turn as Gollum/Smeagol in The Lord of the Ringstrilogy, motion capture had not been very widely used. It’s been nearly a quarter of a century since The Fellowship of the Ring was released, and now Serkis is synonymous with motion capture, but that wasn’t the case when he was making the Lord of the Rings film trilogy with director Peter Jackson.

Serkis, per PopVerse, appeared on a Lord of the Rings reunion panel at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) and talked about the reaction Jackson and the rest of the Lotr crew had to their first encounter with Serkis’ Gollum/Smeagol on set.

The actor/director recalled looking pretty silly in his motion capture suit at first. “These guys had been filming for about four or five months before I got out to New Zealand. I was going through the preparations for becoming Gollum,...

The next Lord of the Ringsfilm, The Hunt for Gollum, is set for release in 2027, and fans are rightfully curious about whether any of their favorite characters will return for the film.

Several of the cast members from Peter Jackson’s original Lord of the Rings trilogy took part in a panel at AwesomeCon in Washington, D.C., hosted by ScreenRant’s Joe Deckelmeiser, including Liv Tyler and Orlando Bloom, who played Arwen and Legolas, respectively, in the films.

Liv Tyler: “It Was Such a Gift”

Tyler revealed the answer to the question if she would return to the franchise after appearing in all three of the original trilogy movies as Arwen.“I’d just do anything. I write to Fran (Walsh) and Philippa (Boyens),” Tyler said of the pair who were writers on The Lord of the Rings films. “I’m like, ‘Hey, is there any chance we’re going to need Arwen back?...

Winter came, and it left television forever changed. Before Game of Thrones, fantasy had yet to find a way into the cultural zeitgeist. It had already been largely claimed by Lord of the Rings fans and the archetypical book nerds. In the early 2010s, however, HBO threw dragons, political backstabbing, and quite a bit of nudity onto our screens, and suddenly, fantasy was mainstream. Every network subsequently scrambled to make the next Game of Thrones – from Netflix’s The Witcher to Amazon’s Lord of the Rings prequel.

A still from Game of Thrones | Credits: HBO

The influence of GoT, however, went beyond the fantasy genre. It helped kick TV’s Golden Age into a state of overdrive, all the while reshaping spoiler culture. The show became representative of a time when avoiding the internet was the only way for things to stay unspoiled. (Let’s ignore those leaks from the final few seasons.

It is two years since Warner Bros’ Discovery boss David Zaslav made it clear that one big push he wanted to see happening at the studio is to draw out more content from some of their biggest IPs. Since then, a Harry Potter TV series has become a reality, a new Lord of the Rings movie is in development over a decade after the release of The Hobbit, and several other well-known properties are set for expansions. In a recent interview with Deadline, Warner Bros Pictures co-chairman/CEOs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy shared a little insight into some other projects on the horizon. De Luca shared:

“Drew Goddard [is] writing and directing The Matrix. Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Jay Roach, with their Ocean’s Eleven prequel; Matt Reeves as producer, working with Marvel’s Werewolf By Night director Michael Giacchino on a remake of our library title Them; Andy Serkis directing Gollum.

The heroic and faithful Hobbit, Samwise Gamgee, played by Sean Astin in the original Lord of the Ringstrilogy, proved to be a loyal friend to Frodo Baggins in his journey to destroy the Ring. The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, which will be directed by Andy Serkis, is set for a 2027 release. During an appearance on a panel moderated by ScreenRant’s Joe Deckelmeier at Washington, D.C.’s AwesomeCon, Sean Astin delved into whether he’d reprise his Samwise role.

“The idea of doing Sam again…When we did it the first time, I had no idea what the relationship of the literature was to that character. To me, it was all about what we were doing and trying to understand the ideas; just connecting on an emotional level,” Astin said.

The original Lord of the Rings movies, directed by Peter Jackson, began their theatrical runs...

It’s likely to be more than two years before Lord of the Ringsfans will be treated to the next live-action film and the first since Peter Jackson's 2014 film, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. However, the next Middle-Earth epic film, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,recently received an update from Warner Bros. Pictures.

Per Deadline, Pam Abdy, co-chair/CEO of Warner Bros. Pictures said in an interview that they recently heard from Andy Serkis, who is directing The Hunt for Gollum, about the film’s progress. “Adding to things we’re excited about, Andy Serkis doing the Gollum Film…” Abdy said.

Abdy added that the studio has also been in communication with The Hunt for Gollum co-writer Philippa Boyens as well. “We just had a dynamite check-in with Philippa Boyens on Gollum, and I think we’re about to get that script in May,...

Before it was a bladder-testing, critically-acclaimed movie franchise — and even before it was a creepy-as-Hell Finnish TV show — author J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic The Lord of the Rings series was adapted as a 1978 animated feature by Ralph Bakshi, the legendary director who helmed Fritz the Cat, Wizards, and the horniest ‘90s movie to ever get a Nintendo game tie-in for children.

Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings, which only covers the first half of the full story, is a visually arresting, highly influential film. Interestingly, as Bleeding Cool pointed out, the famed animator recently took to social media to share a side-by-side comparison of a scene from his movie and one from South Park’s 2002 Lord of the Rings parody.

South Park’s “The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers” from Season Six found Cartman taking on the role of Gandalf for a Lord of the Rings...

More than 20 years have passed since we last saw the Fellowship of the Ring and Frodo make their epic journey to destroy the One Ring in Middle-earth. However, it appears that the original cast of The Lord of the Rings franchise is ready to go back to Middle-earth. At least, Arwen, Samwise, Legolas and Gimli could be the ones returning in the future, as their performers didn't say no when approached with the idea of reprising their roles in a future movie of Peter Jackson's epic fantasy universe.

Original cast members Liv Tyler, Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom and John Rhys-Davies appeared at an AwesomeCon panel to talk about their legacy in the original Lord of the Rings trilogy. Hosted by Screen Rant, the panel included asking them whether they could return for another movie in the franchise. The Hunt for Gollum is reportedly in development, and it could be...

More than two decades after The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring kicked off one of the most successful film trilogies in cinematic history, star Elijah Wood is setting the record straight about just how much (or little) he and the cast were paid to join Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth epic. Spoiler alert: It wasn’t exactly dwarf gold.

Speaking on the red carpet at the 2025 Texas Film Awards, Wood told Business Insider that the paychecks for The Lord of the Rings movies were far from legendary. "Because we weren't making one movie and then renegotiating a contract for the next, it wasn't the sort of lucrative scenario that you could sort of rest easy for the rest of your life,” he explained.

That’s not to say Wood's ungrateful. Quite the opposite. He called New Line Cinema’s decision to greenlight all three movies at once,...

Lord Rings Jackson Weinsteins Clash(Photo Credit –Wikimedia)

The Lord of the Rings nearly lost its magic before it ever hit theaters, and it had nothing to do with Orcs. At one point, the Weinsteins wanted to fire Peter Jackson, shrink the trilogy into one film, and kill off three Hobbits.

Back in the early development stages, The Lord of the Rings was a Miramax project. Peter Jackson had signed a first-look deal with the studio. Harvey Weinstein, at first, seemed thrilled. “Harvey was excited,” Jackson’s manager Ken Kamins told The Independent. “We found that very encouraging and thought we’d have room to tell the stories.”

But trouble started brewing fast. The Disney-owned Miramax wasn’t ready to gamble on a sprawling fantasy epic. Disney had capped budgets, and Lord of the Rings was way over their limit. “When Disney realized the budget and that we were going to shoot the films back-to-back,...

The long-awaitedMagic: The Gatheringmovie might finally make it to the big screen as a popular emerging director is now in talks to helm the project. Launched in 1993, Magic: The Gathering is considered one of the first major tabletop card games. It is certainly one of the most influential, having become a global phenomenon and generating $1 billion in global revenue. The card game, which now includes special crossover cards and packs ranging from Lord of the Rings to Doctor Who to Spongebob Squarepants, has long had a movie in development, and the project is finally picking up steam.

Deadlinereports that director Matt Johnson is Legendary Pictures and Hasbro Entertainment's top choice to direct Magic: The Gathering. No official deal has been made yet, with the studio currently in early talks with the emerging filmmaker. No screenwriter is attached, and we have no idea of what exactly the Magic: The Gathering...

Emanating from their studio in Cincinnati, Ohio, The History of Bad Ideas sees hosts Jason, Jeff and Blake talk about all things geeky on their podcast. Whether it’s rumours of the latest comic book movies, debating who really is the worst villain of all time, discussing the latest comic issues or just wondering about life in general, you are sure to have a fun time with them! In theory.

If you haven’t listened to the show before – why not? – you can check out previous episodes of The History of Bad Ideas podcast on iTunes and look out for new episodes here on Nerdly each and every week…

Episode 591: Prove Your Allergy!

The Hobi Gang is bundled up in the studio on a rare cold day in April and talking all the hottest pop culture news including another change to Fyre Fest 2, influencers invading protected islands and the Minecraft Movie breaks records!

Sean Bean dies a lot. It’s been something of established lore since Bean first broke through to mainstream audiences in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. There, Bean’s Boromir had a volley of arrows shot his way in the finale, precluding him from appearing in either subsequent sequel. I’m not sure if the lore first took hold there, because he died plenty of times before then. He died in 1993’s Patriot Games. He died in 1994’s Scarlett. He died again in 1995’s Goldeneye. Watch out for satellites, folks.

His most famous death is undoubtedly Game of Thrones, of course, but Bean has a secret, thematically similar death in a horror movie you most likely missed (and not John Fawcett’s The Dark). I’m talking about Black Death, director Christopher Smith’s hidden medieval horror gem. Surprising everyone, Black Death...

Hasbro and Legendary Entertainment may have found the director who will usher in the live-action Magic: The Gatheringuniverse. Fresh off of his riotous SXSW movie, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, being acquired by Neon, Matt Johnson is being eyed to helm the first film in the new franchise, according to a new report from Deadline. A deal hasn't been finalized to bring him into the fold yet, nor is there a writer set to pen the script, but the studios appear to have a direction for the project at least. The hope is for the magical franchise, announced in February, to hit the screen first with a feature project before expanding with more film and television installments based on the card game.

For Johnson, the project will be a big step-up after finding critical successes with his aforementioned Back to the Future homage and the underrated 2023 biographical comedy-drama...

The Lord of the Rings trilogy, with its first movie, 2001’s The Fellowship of the Rings, catapulted Orlando Bloom to superstar status, but the actor recalls feeling somewhat overwhelmed when he was cast in the Peter Jackson films. The actor, who played Legolas in the trilogy, would also reprise his role as the elf in 2013’s The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaugand 2014’s The Battle of the Five Armies.

Per People, Bloom, appearing on a Lord of the Rings panel at Awesome Con in Washington, D.C., opened up about how it felt working on the iconic films. “For me, as a young actor, I remember sitting there coming out of drama school with all of these legends,” Bloom said. “And thinking, ‘What am I doing here? How did this happen? This is unbelievable.’”

The Lord of the Rings was Bloom’s First Film

Bloom continued, “It was a feeling of excitement.

Joe Rogan had an exciting conversation in his recent podcast episode when he brought on Colossal Biosciences CEO Ben Lamm as his guest. The company has just become popular on social media after they announced the de-extinction of dire wolves. The company claimed that they modified the genetic code of a gray wolf with the dire wolf DNA they found from old fossils.

Rogan was eager to get as much information out of Lamm as possible. Fans of Game of Thrones are very much aware of these creatures and they almost believed that dire wolves existed only in fantasy worlds. However, it was a pleasant surprise for them when Colossal brought back the extinct species to life.

Joe Rogan in The Joe Rogan Experience | Credits: @PowerfulJRE/YouTube

Colossal has so far grown three young dire wolves. The two males, Romulus and Remus, were born on October 1, 2024, and are currently six months old.