First Photos of Nicholas Hoult as a Young J.R.R. Tolkien in The Upcoming Biopic TOLKIEN
Thanks to EW, we have our first look at X-Men, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Warm Bodies star Nicolas Hoult in the role of legendary author J.R.R. Tolkien in a film that will explore his early life. Tolkien is the man behind the creation of the the world of Middle Earth. Lily Collins will star alongside Hoult as Edith, Tolkien’s wife.
The movie is called Tolkien and it will follow "the formative years of the orphaned author as he finds friendship, love and artistic inspiration among a fellow group of 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."
The stills offer snapshots from the author’s life, including his younger years with future wife Edith (Collins) and the approach of World War I, events that would come to impact Tolkien’s work with The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. His war experience, for example, would inspire The Fellowship of the Rings, while his relationship with Edith informed literary romances like Aragorn and Arwen.
In the lone shot of Hoult’s Tolkien, the wall is layered with various maps, scribblings of the elvish language, and sketches of giant spiders that would help craft the fantasy world of Middle-earth.
The movie is being directed by Dome Karukoski from a script written by David Gleeson and Stephen Beresford. It also stars Colm Meaney, Anthony Boyle, Patrick Gibson, Tom Glynn-Carney, Craig Roberts, Laura Donnelly, Genevieve O’Reilly, Pam Ferris, and Derek Jacobi.
Tolkien will be released in theaters on May 1st.