'X-Men' Actor Nicholas Hoult Top Pick for 'Lord of the Rings' Creator J.R.R. Tolkien Biopic
"X-Men" actor Nicholas Hoult is being eyed for the role of J.R.R. Tolkien. Fox Searchlight is producing a biopic about the creator of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit," which will be set before World War I.
Called "Tolkien," the biopic will center on Hoult as an orphaned author who makes friends, finds love and develops his artistry among the outcasts in his school. According to reports, the actor is still in early talks to board the project.
Fox Searchlight also tapped Finnish director Dome Karukoski to helm the movie. "Tolkien" came from a script penned by David Gleeson and Stephen Beresford.
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But there is also another Tolkien biopic in the works under New Line Cinema. Called "Middle Earth," the film will delve into the author's love story with Edith Bratt.
Angus Fletcher will write the screenplay to "Middle Earth" while James Strong will be directing the movie. No stars have been attached so far.
Tolkien lived a challenging life as a young boy. Originally born in South Africa, Tolkien's family moved to England when he entered primary school. Tolkien formed friendships with Robert Gilson, Geoffrey Smith and Christopher Wiseman.
The young men established the Tea Club and Barrovian Society where they told each other stories. It was this group that influenced Tolkien to develop his well-loved Middle-Earth classics.
Tolkien published "The Hobbit" in 1937 and followed it up with "The Lord of The Rings." The author planned the latter as a sequel but its story became bigger than anticipated and Tolkien published more stories until 1949.
"The Lord of the Rings" emerged as one of the best-selling novels of all time with 150 million copies sold worldwide. The famous author died in 1973. His stories, however, continue to live on in print, as well as in the blockbuster and Oscar-winning movies Peter Jackson directed and produced from 2001 to 2014.
