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Stephen Colbert Reaches Valinor in 'This Lord of the Rings' Cast Reunion

Photo credit: Elaine Chung
Photo credit: Elaine Chung

Nearly twenty years ago, the little movie that could landed in theaters: The Fellowship of the Ring, the first in a trilogy of ambitious fantasy epics adapting J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved novels. The trilogy would go on to rake in nearly $3 billion at the global box office, win seventeen Oscars (including eleven for The Return of the King, still the record for the ceremony’s highest clean sweep), and become an international phenomenon.

Twenty years after Fellowship turned out theater-goers in droves, it’s been a singularly unusual year for movies. For many months, the pandemic has shuttered movie theaters and cinematic production around the world, and now that some semblance of hope lingers on the horizon, theater-goers are understandably hesitant to go back. Who better to welcome us back to multiplexes than Middle Earth’s finest? In an effort to celebrate the Fellowship anniversary and welcome movie-goers safely back to theaters, Alamo Drafthouse has reunited the trilogy’s sprawling cast for a special series of conversations, moderated by Ring Nut Stephen Colbert, which are airing in theaters ahead of screenings of the trilogy. The reunion is part of Alamo Drafthouse’s “Support Local Cinemas” campaign, which previously featured a reunion of the Dazed and Confused cast.

"One of the experiences I miss most during this last year, beyond getting to hug my friends and travel, is sitting in a dark movie theater eagerly anticipating a new cinematic experience,” said Elijah Wood, who played Frodo in the films, and who led the charge in assembling the cast and crew. In addition to Wood, Colbert, and director Peter Jackson, participants include Sean Astin (Sam), Cate Blanchett (Galadriel), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), Billy Boyd (Pippin), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Dominic Monaghan (Merry), Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Andy Serkis (Gollum), and Liv Tyler (Arwen).

Alamo Drafthouse shared three exclusive clips from the reunion with Esquire, featuring everything from kissing Gandalfs to new behind-the-scenes trivia. The full reunion Q&As will be available at Alamo On Demand later this year, but in the meantime, watch this sneak peek here first—and if you’re so inclined, catch the full-length versions at Alamo Drafthouse theaters now, where The Return of the King is playing.

Sean Astin reveals that he wasn’t always locked into playing Sam. “Who else could I be? This Aragorn guy looks really cool,” Astin remembers telling the casting director. If Astin played Aragorn, would Mortensen have played Sam? Imagine the movies that might have been!

McKellan must have been inspired by Bong Joon-ho and his kissing Oscar statuettes. Speaking with Jackson, Serkis, and Colbert, we see him bring Gandalf the Grey and Gandalf the White into a liplock. Ooh la la!

While chatting with Wood, Boyd, and Monaghan, Colbert proudly showed off his bookshelves full of Tolkien ephemera, including two prop swords, a Smeagol statue, and an extensive library of literary criticism about Tolkien.

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