Lord Of The Rings Cast Will Participate In Reunion To Help Struggling Cinemas

The cast of Lord of the Rings will be reuniting in order to celebrate 20 years since The Fellowship of the Ring was released as well as supporting local cinemas.

Stephen Colbert, a US TV presenter (and LOTR mega nerd) will be hosting three cinema-only cast reunions which is part of the 'Support Local Cinemas' campaign to encourage film lovers to visit independent theatres following the coronavirus closures.

The first chat will be shown on 25 March in cinemas that are signed up to the event. Colbert will be interviewing Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan which will be shown after The Fellowship of the Ring.

Then on 1 April, the host will speak to Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Viggo Mortensen and Liv Tyler after The Two Towers has been shown.

Finally, on 8 April director Peter Jackson, Sir Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis will reflect on The Return of the King - the final film of the trilogy.

It's not clear yet whether the events will be shown in any UK-based cinemas but US chain Alamo Drafthouse is behind the campaign and says that the cast reunion conversations will be available to any movie theatre in the world..

According to Alamo Drafthouse: "If you'd like your local theater to participate, send them over to http://drafthouse.com/LOTR20 and we'll take it from there."

If you've got a burning question for the cast and crew, ask it on Twitter using #LOTR20.

In a statement to Digital Spy, Elijah Wood, who played Frodo Baggins in the trilogy, said: "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 theatre eagerly anticipating a new cinematic experience.

"When Tim [League, Alamo Drafthouse Founder and Executive Chairman] reached out with the idea that we could band together to bring some much-needed support to independent theatres across the globe, I jumped at the chance to help."

The Alamo Drafthouse website gives more information on the 'Support Local Cinema' campaign, writing: "These cinematic icons are gathering not just to tell stories and answer burning questions, but to support local cinemas around the world that are struggling to survive the COVID era.

"From now through the end of April, Alamo Drafthouse has committed to share this special content with any theater that would like to participate anywhere in the world."