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Guardian implies Christopher Tolkien writing LOTR prequel -- huh? - Lord of the Rings news - J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

August 04, 2000 at 13:42:49

In an article reviewing the popularity of prequels among movies and books, The Guardian covers stories from Hawthorne's 'Scarlet Letter' to Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings'.

"...George Lucas has always kept jealous control of his creation and provided the most famous cinema prequel of all, The Phantom Menace" the newspaper says of Star Wars and prequels. "Filming on the second of the three prequels is now under way in Australia and fans desperate for any titbit of information are kept updated daily by hundreds of websites."

But then they go on to drop their bombshell:

"Science fiction seems to be ahead of everyone else when it comes to prequels. Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series joins Star Wars, as does Christopher Tolkien's version of his father's Lord of the Rings...."

Okay, does someone know something Tolkien fandom hasn't heard, or is this just a gaffe?

Our belief is that the writer was referring to 'The Silmarillion', the "prequel" to 'The Lord of the Rings' which Christopher brought to final publication form more than 20 years ago (so it is hardly just joining Star Wars in that respect).

The alternative interpretation lends itself to a revelation of staggering proportions, and seems to us highly unlikely. But keep your eyes and ears open, just in case....