Nicolas Hoult has come a long way from his About a Boy days. No longer does he warble ‘Killing Me Softly’ to audiences of jeering teens and grimacing Hugh Grants, rather he portrays some of the finest literary minds of the 20th century.
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That’s right, not satisfied with only portraying Catcher in the Rye creator J.D. Salinger in upcoming biopic Rebel in the Rye, Hoult is now set to play J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Variety reports that the Fox Searchlight and Chernin production Tokien will focus on the author’s younger days ‘as he finds friendship, love, and artistic inspiration among a group of classmates prior to the outbreak of World War I in 1914.’
Hoult as Salinger in Rebel in the Rye / Image Courtesy of Just Jared Jr.
Fresh from promoting controversial Netflix movie To the Bone, Lily Collins will play Edith Bratt, Tolkien’s love interest who went on to become his wife and who inspired the elvish princesses of Middle Earth.
Image Courtesy of Variety
Plans for the film have reportedly been underway since 2013, and Dome Karukoski will direct.
Featured Image Courtesy of Variety