WATCH: First look at J.R.R Tolkien biopic

A new trailer for the upcoming film about J.R.R Tolkien, author of the bestselling Lord of the Rings series of books, has just been released.

Nicholas Hoult (The Favourite, X-Men franchise, Mad Max: Fury Road) stars as writer JRR Tolkien, who wrote the much-loved fantasy novels The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit, as well as other works like The Silmarillion.

The biopic, directed by Finnish filmmaker Dome Karukoski, will focus on Tolkien’s formative years with his close friends, and lead into World War I.

Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins in Tolkien. Picture: Fox Searchlight

Tolkien’s experiences at Oxford and on the battlefields of the First World War inspired the imaginary world of Middle-Earth and his epic saga of good and evil, featuring hobbits, wizards, dragons, and elves.

“It’s a story about journeys, the journeys we take to prove ourselves,” says Tolkien in the trailer. “It’s about adventures, it’s about potent magic — magic beyond anything anyone has ever felt before. It’s about what it means to love, and to be loved, it’s about courage, it’s about fellowship.”

The clip juxtaposes scenes in Oxford with Tolkien’s friends and future wife Edith Bratt (Lily Collins), with snippets of the stories he would go on to create.

Tom Glynn-Carney (Dunkirk) plays Christopher Wiseman, one of Tolkien’s closest friends. The supporting cast also includes Anthony Boyle, Patrick Gibson, Albie Marber, Colm Meaney, and Genevieve O’Reilly.

Tolkien is out May 10, 2019.

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