Co-Geeking

The Hunt for Gollum Update

May 15, 2026May 10, 2026EppuLeave a comment

By all appearances, the Tolkien adaptation project The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is chugging steadily along. As publicized earlier, Andy Serkis directs. The writing team consists of Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh, Phoebe Gittins, and Arty Papageorgiou.

The latest big news are threefold: the casting of Kate Winslet, the recasting of Aragorn, and the return of Lee Pace as Thranduil. (Please share if you have other tidbits!)

At this writing, according to IMDB, returning to their previous Middle-earth roles are Elijah Wood (Frodo), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Lee Pace (Thranduil), and Andy Serkis (Gollum); new actors and/or roles include Kate Winslet as Marigol, Jamie Dornan as Strider, and Leo Woodall as Halvard.

It’s not surprising that a new role was created for Winslet, since female characters are few and far between in that section of Tolkien’s writing. However, there’s as of yet no indication what kinds of characters Marigol and Halvard might be or even which cultures or races they might come from.

Neither does it surprise me that Viggo Mortensen isn’t returning as Aragorn, as he’s getting on in years (and computer-aided de-aging is never very good anyway). Once the recasting was confirmed, there were a lot of speculation and rumors flying around. Apparently Dornan doesn’t yet have many big-name roles under his belt. I did see somewhere that the production was looking for someone who looks like a younger Viggo Mortensen; whether that’s true I have no idea, but it at least appears plausible.

Casting Lee Pace as Thranduil is nice; he did a fantastic job earlier and he’s still young enough to plausibly appear in the role. And, of course, seeing his character would be completely logical given Tolkien’s original references to Mirkwood and Mirkwood Elves around this plot element.

Apparently the start of production is happening this month. Actual progress! Reactor Mag also reports that filming will continue until October, and that HfG is the first planned movie in a duology. The production just might turn out to be more interesting than I thought earlier.

The release has been pushed forwards by a year (earlier info mentioned 2026). At this writing, HfG is slated to hit the theaters on Dec 17, 2027.

Images: Winslet in A Little Chaos, photo by Alex Bailey via IMDB. Dornan in New Worlds via IMDB (cropped).

Pompeii Reconstructed

May 11, 2026April 26, 2026ErikLeave a comment

Here’s a fascinating project: a digital reconstruction of the Roman city of Pompeii that lets us walk through the streets and wander the houses of the ancient city when it was still a living town. This video shows some highlights of the work produced by Altair 4.

Pompei Then and now [sic] by Altair4 Multimedia Archaeo3D Production via Youtube

Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.

New Pride and Prejudice Teaser Trailer

May 6, 2026April 12, 2026Eppu1 Comment

Aha! The new Pride and Prejudice adaptation by Netflix is far enough along to have released a first trailer:

Pride and Prejudice | Official Teaser by Netflix on YouTube

Oh, boy… that really wasn’t much, was it?

The editing of the trailer does remind me of Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights trailers—and not necessarily in a good way. (I haven’t seen the movie, but I’ve gotten the impression that Fennell foregrounded the characters’ passions at the expense of the plot.) While people in Regency England has strong feelings, of course, the polite society was all about controlling them, and that’s a part of Jane Austen’s writing. Furthermore, at its core P&P is about a meeting of the minds, not looking for a romp in the hay. In this trailer, touch and intimate gaze feature heavily, making it appear the story is about the bodies more than the brains.

And why on earth is Elizabeth Bennett sitting up on the roof in the first place? To highlight her rebellious spirit even to the slowest of viewers???

I am fervently hoping any future trailer(s) will be more illuminating.

At this writing, IMDB doesn’t list a release date, but Deadline claims “launching in fall 2026”.

The Sheep Detectives Trailers

May 1, 2026March 29, 2026EppuLeave a comment

The Sheep Detectives is almost out, and I can’t believe I haven’t come across this production before—it looks absolutely hilarious!

Before some comments, here are the two trailers:

The Sheep Detectives | Official Trailer by Amazon MGM Studios on YouTube

The Sheep Detectives | Official Trailer 2 by Amazon MGM Studios on YouTube

Hugh Jackman’s shepherd George—who turns out much more than a simple farmer—is murdered. He had a habit of reading murder mysteries to his flock, who take it upon themselves to solve his killing. It involves crossing a road—gasp!—to leave their beloved pasture, conducting investigations, and attempting to point the poor hapless local bobby in the right direction.

The supporting cast sounds incredible. We have for instance Emma Thompson and Patrick Stewart, Tosin Cole and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Brett Goldstein and Nicholas Galitzine (who is going to be He-Man in the upcoming reboot of Masters of the Universe).

The script is by Craig Mazin and Leonie Swann, based on Swann’s book; Kyle Balda directs. I know some of Mazin’s work from the series Chernobyl (which was great) and Balda’s from Minions (ditto), so here’s hoping that the plot works.

Can’t wait! 😀

The Sheep Detectives is set to open next Friday, May 08, 2026.

Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.

A Highlands Set

April 27, 2026April 19, 2026Erik1 Comment

Using some of the transmog pieces from last year’s Brewfest, I put together a highlands set for my Kul Tiran warrior. Now she’s ready for anything from caber-tossing to haggis-tasting. (Or possibly caber-tasting and haggis-tossing, depending on her mood.)

Here’s the pieces that went into the set.

Images: World of Warcraft screencap

Of Dice and Dragons talks about games and gaming.

Second Trailer for Masters of the Universe Reboot

April 24, 2026April 5, 2026EppuLeave a comment

Here’s the second Masters of The Universe trailer:

Masters of The Universe – Official Trailer by Amazon MGM Studios on YouTube

We see a little more in this version—like Adam starting to re-gather his team from jail—but how much more can there really be in an origin story? The fight scenes don’t seem to contain anything interesting, either. (I’m really not the prime target audience for this reboot, since it doesn’t seem to do anything new and inventive, merely new as in ‘an updated version’.) Adam’s relationships with his friend(s) on Earth show some comedic promise, at least.

I do wonder how they got such a cast to sign up for what appears a rather uninspired reboot? Unless the trailers lie again?

As MotU really was more my younger siblings’ cup of tea, I think for me it’ll be a movie to get from the library.

Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.

First Trailer for Dune: Part Three

April 17, 2026March 22, 2026EppuLeave a comment

I remember being impressed with Dune: Part One but much less so with Dune: Part Two, so I stopped tracking what’s happening with Dune: Part Three. We’re now approaching the release of D3, however, and a trailer has dropped:

Dune: Part Three | Official Teaser Trailer by Warner Bros. et al. on YouTube

Lots of feels and fleeting character moments, but not many impressions of what will happen in this version of the story. That seems in line with how trailers for block busters work these days.

While much less excited about this conclusion of director Villeneuve’s trilogy than about the Frank Herbert’s originals, I am somewhat interested in how Villeneuve was able to turn a book trilogy plus its sequel novel into a movie trilogy. Perhaps I’ll wait till the disc is out and borrow it from the library.

At this writing, Dune: Part Three is set to release on December 17 or 18, 2026.

Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.

Quotes: Sleep Is the Mind-Healer

April 8, 2026October 19, 2025Eppu1 Comment

User nighthawkes on Tumblr shared a rest-centered version of Bene Gesserit’s Litany against Fear, titled Litany against Not Laying [sic] Down:

“I must sleep. Sleep is the mind-healer. Sleep is the big-life that brings total ability to fucking do anything. I will face my bed. I will permit the blankie to pass over me and snores to pass through me. And when sleep has gone past I will turn the outer eye to greet the new morning. When the sleep has gone there will be everything. Energy and will to live will remain.”

Quite a clever rendition.

I will need to keep this firmly in mind, as I have recently-ish completed yet another turn around the sun and have never been this old in my life before…! 🙂

Image via cat gif central

Serving exactly what it sounds like, the Quotes feature excerpts other people’s thoughts.