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One of the many films that stopped by WonderCon this year was Tolkien. Written by David Gleeson and Stephen Beresford and directed by Dome Karukoski, the film explores the formative years of the orphaned author as he finds friendship, love, and artistic inspiration among a group of fellow outcasts at University. 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. If you’ve seen the trailer, you know Karukoski weaves in imagery from Lord of the Rings on the WWI battlefield and it’s quite a sight. Tolkien also stars Lily Collins, Colm Meaney, Anthony Boyle, Patrick Gibson, Tom Glynn-Carney, Craig Robets, Laura Donnelly, Genevieve O’Reilly, Pam Ferris, and Derek Jacobi. Tolkien opens in theaters on May 10th.

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Image via Fox Searchlight

Shortly before Karukoski, Gibson, Boyle, and Glynn-Carney took the WonderCon stage, they stopped by the Collider studio at WonderCon. They talked about making the film, what they learned about Tolkien’s real-life story that surprised them, who the actors play, how the movie changed in the editing room, a day they will always remember from set, the challenges of filming a rugby scene on the first day of production, and so much more.

Check out what they had to say in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about followed by the official synopsis.

Dome Karukoski, Patrick Gibson, Anthony Boyle, & Tom Glynn-Carney:

  • What the film is about, and what made Karukoski as a filmmaker interested in making it.
  • Who the actors play, and what drew them to the project.
  • What they learned about Tolkien’s real-life story that surprised them.
  • How the movie changed in the editing room.
  • tolkien-nicholas-hoult-lily-collins
    Image via Fox Searchlight
    How they showed the ways Tolkien’s real-life experiences led to the characters in Lord of the Rings.
  • A day they will always remember from set.
  • The challenges of filming a rugby scene on the first day of production.
  • What TV show they would love to guest-direct or guest-star on.
  • Is there anything they collect?

Here’s the Tolkien official synopsis:

Tolkien explores the formative years of the renowned author’s life as he finds friendship, courage and inspiration among a fellow group of writers and artists at school. Their brotherhood strengthens as they grow up and weather love and loss together, including Tolkien’s (Nicholas Hoult) tumultuous courtship of his beloved Edith Bratt (Lily Collins), until the outbreak of the First World War which threatens to tear their fellowship apart. All of these experiences would later inspire Tolkien to write his famous Middle-earth novels.

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Image via Fox Searchlight
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Image via Fox Searchlight, Chernin Entertainment

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