December 19, 2001. That’s the fateful day that Warner Bros. released The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, meaning the first chapter in Peter Jackson’s fantasy epic series is now officially 15 years old.
Lord of the Rings fansite TheOneRing dug up the film’s first teaser trailer, which you can watch below. It was originally released on January 12, 2001. One of our favorite sequences is when the members of the Fellowship crest the hill as the names of the movies and their release dates flash on the screen. As Aragorn reaches the hill, the title Return of the King pops up–a nice touch.
The Fellowship of the Ring was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won four, which included Best Cinematography, Best Makeup, Best Music, and Best Visual Effects.
Sequel The Two Towers debuted in December 2002, with The Return of the King arriving a full year later. That movie won an astounding 11 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Peter Jackson.
Jackson returned to Middle-earth for his The Hobbit series, which, like The Lord of the Rings, was a film trilogy. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey started things off in 2012, with sequels The Desolation of Smaug (2013) and The Battle of the Five Armies (2013) following shortly thereafter.
There are at least two other Lord of the Rings-related movies in the works right now, one of which will tell the story of the “tumultuous events” that inspired J.R.R. Tolkien to write The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The other one, Tolkien & Lewis, will explore the author’s relationship with Narnia writer C.S. Lewis and his roll in converting Lewis to Christianity.
-As a piece of relevant trivia, it recently came to light that Jackson wanted music icon David Bowie to play Gandalf in his Lord of the Rings series, but the singer’s schedule was just too busy.
Jackson and others who worked on Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are now adapting the sci-fi/fantasy book Mortal Engines for the big screen.
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