More than two decades after the premiere of the trilogy of The Lord of the Rings by Peter Jackson, the Warner Bros. studio is already working on new productions set in the universe created by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Weeks ago it hit theaters The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirriman animated feature film that tells the story of Helm Hammerhand, one of the ancestors of the kings of Rohan. In addition, two new films were announced, one that will be directed by Andy Serkis and will take up the story of Gollum (The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum), and another of which the details are not yet known.
The good news is that these projects will have the presence of Philippa Boyens, one of the screenwriters of the original trilogy, who will once again collaborate with the new projects set in Middle Earth. Although there are many possibilities, since there are a lot of stories created by Tolkien that could be brought to the screen, there is one that Boyens dreams of adapting.
In an interview with Collider, the screenwriter referred to the mythical tale of Beren and Lúthien, which is part of El Silmarillion. “It’s an incredible story,” he said. “You have Aragorn and Arwen, which is a beautiful love, but before them, there was Lúthien and Beren.”
The story of Lúthien and Beren is one of the most beloved by Tolkien readers, not only because of the intensity of their love, but because it has essential elements of the mythology created by the writer. Beren, a mortal man, and Lúthien, an immortal elf, challenge Morgoth, the most powerful of the villains of the First Age, to recover a Silmaril, a divine jewel.
“It’s an earlier era, and it’s kind of a more mythical era. You have some serious monsters – I love monsters – that you could bring into that narrative. But also, she’s an incredible character, and there’s some of her DNA, obviously, in Arwen and Galadriel, but even in these human characters, I think – that courage to go and face what terrifies you the most,” explains Boyens.
For the writer, this story transcends romance and is an exploration of bravery, sacrifice and hope. “It’s an epic love that defines eras. It’s the kind of story Tolkien wrote best,” he reflected.
Although Boyens is deeply committed to Middle-earth, she admits that bringing Lúthien and Beren to film would not be an easy task. El Silmarillionwhere this story is told, is a complex and dense work that does not resemble the trilogy, in narrative terms. While The Lord of the Rings It’s a novel, El Silmarillion is a collection of myths and stories about events from the First Age.
Of course it would be a great challenge, the idea of adapting these stories opens the door to exploring a lesser-known era in the universe of Tolkienwhich would introduce new myths, great heroes and terrible villains. The truth is that there are still many Middle-earth stories left to tell, and a lot of enthusiasm on the part of Tolkien and movie fans to see that world expand on the big screen.
