Did you know that the role of Gandalf was offered to Sean Connery and Anthony Hopkins? In an interview with The Independent, executive producer Mark Ordesky said, ‘we did make an offer to Connery but he said no. We never got an answer until years later, but apparently he read the material and just didn’t get it.’ Not only that, but Queen of the Damned actor Stuart Townsend was originally suppose to play Aragorn, but the actor was fired by Peter Jackson just one day before filming. It’s hard to imagine a version of Lord of the Rings without Ian McKellen as Gandalf or Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, but who could have predicted just how iconic Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy would become years later? 

If you’re as much of a LOTR fan as we are, then you’ll love this week’s pick of hilarious Lord of the Rings memes. Be sure to come back next Tolkien Tuesday for even more nerdy content.