Today, Deadline has learned that The Home of Dark Butterflies director Dome Karukoski has joined the upcoming J.R.R Tolkien biopic Tolkien. The film has been in-development for a while. It will follow a young Tolkien through his struggles of World War I and eventually writing one of the greatest fantasy novel series of all time Lord of the Rings:
Tolkien explores the formative years of the orphaned author as he finds friendship, love and artistic inspiration among a fellow group of outcasts at school. This takes him into the outbreak of World War I, which threatens to tear the “fellowship” apart. All of these experiences would inspire Tolkien to write his famous Middle-Earth novels.
David Gleeson and Stephen Beresford penned the script for Fox Searchlight. Casting is underway for the studio for the young Tolkien. It’s unknown if his longtime friend CS Lewis (Author of the Narnia series) will appear in the film.
Tolkien has no set release date