When J.R.R. Tolkien first sat down to write a children’s book way back in 1930, he probably had no idea just how successful the spin-offs from it would be - even decades after his death. Tolkien penned “The Hobbit” over several years, eventually publishing it in 1937. What started as a bedtime story for his own kids, ended up being an epic fantasy novel that has sold around 100 million copies worldwide.
Tolkien worked on The Lord Of The Rings trilogy after publishing The Hobbit. Those books later went on to become epic blockbusters at the box office, grossing over $2,9 billion internationally. Warner Bros. announced earlier this year that it’d be releasing a new batch of LOTR films in 2026, with Gollum as the star of the show.
If it seems too long away, fear not, My Precious. We found an online community dedicated to Lord Of The Rings memes. r/lotrmemes: "a warm resting place for all weary travelers who are fond of Tolkien and his works." Bored Panda has picked the best, and created an epic list of memes to get you in the mood for Middle-earth’s return. In the words of the page, "grab a pint, a long pipe, and relax". Keep scrolling for your LOTR fix, and don't forget to upvote your favorites.
#1 Sam Is The Greatest
Image credits: GirIsKing
#2 Well?
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#3 Aye, I Can Do This
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John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was marking school exam papers in the 1920s, when a sudden bout of inspiration came to him. Knowing he needed to save it somewhere, the Professor of Anglo-Saxon quickly flipped over one of the papers and wrote the now famous line, “In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit.”
It would be another ten years or so before he would actually start writing The Hobbit. Before then, he’d been making up bedtime stories about it for his children, immersing them in a world of fantasy. The problem was that he’d sometimes forget a few details, or maybe add a few new ones. His eldest son, Christopher, often picked up the discrepancies.
“One occasion I interrupted: 'Last time, you said Bilbo's front door was blue, and you said Thorin had a golden tassel on his hood, but you've just said that Bilbo's front door was green and that Thorin's hood was silver'; at which point my father muttered 'Damn the boy,' and then 'strode across the room' to his desk to make a note,” relayed Christopher Tolkien in the foreword to The Hobbit.
#4 I Knew It!
Image credits: Yetero93
#5 This Belongs Here
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#6 Middle Tweet Has A Point
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It’s thanks to the little boy’s sharp memory and yearning for consistency that The Hobbit was turned into a book. Tolkien initially wrote the story down as he told it, so he could keep track of all the details. And avoid interruptions from his young son.
Every time he told the story, he would add to the plot. He’d then grab his pen and make notes. After a while, he had the earliest drafts of the book millions eventually came to know and love.
#7 True Sign Of An Intellectual
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#8 Does This Check Out Lore-Wise?
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#9 Dom Monaghan Posted This To His Instagram With The Caption “Life Imitates Art”
Image credits: puffinsinatrenchcoat
London’s George Allen & Unwin, Ltd. published the first edition of The Hobbit on 21 September 1937. Tolkien drew some black-and-white illustrations to add to the book. Only 1,500 copies were originally printed. They sold out by mid-December that year. Further copies were released in America and Britain later, with new color illustrations included.
#10 I Mean It’s Just The Rules
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#11 This Made Me Laugh
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#12 Sean Astin Is Really Good At The Sword Stuff
Image credits: m0rris0n_hotel
Tolkien’s vision of Middle-earth first began in 1914, when he was called to fight in World War I. He has in the past said that he created the mythology to express his “feeling about good, evil, fair, foul.” We can understand how wars could make someone think deeply about right and wrong. And how the fantasy world of Mordor, Frodo Baggins, Sam Gamgee, Gandalf the Grey, Dragons, Mining Dwarves and Gollum grew from those thoughts of the literary great.
#13 Every Group Project Ever
Image credits: That_Dream8933
#14 Got Me Feelin' Like A King
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#15 For The Time Had Already Come When Hobbits Will Shape The Fortunes Of All
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You might be surprised to know that while he spent most of his life in the U.K., JRR Tolkien was actually born in South Africa. In a place called Bloemfontein to be precise. Back then, it was the capital of an independent country called the Republic of the Orange Free State.
Tolkien’s British parents had moved to South Africa in the 1880s, and got married in Cape Town in 1889. His mother took him to Britain at the age of 3. But he had an eventful life in S.A. before then.
#16 The Problem With Being Immortal Is That Your Dad Is Too
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#17 Selfish, Dishonest, Empty Bravado Or Courage, Humility, Wisdom And Grace?
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#18 Imagine If Frodo Didn’t Get Healed
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"Quite by accident, I have a very vivid child's view, which was the result of being taken away from one country and put in another hemisphere-the place where I belonged but which was totally novel and strange,” reads this 1967 archived article. Tolkien told the writer that despite many tragedies, his child was not an unhappy one.
#19 I'm Going To Prank The Little Guy So Hard
Image credits: davetowers646
#20 Gentlemen, We Do Not Stop Till Nightfall
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#21 Normalize Bromances
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It has been reported that JRR Tolkien was kidnapped as a baby. One of his family’s male workers was so enamored by him, that he snuck the infant away to show him off to local villagers. He returned the child the following day, and the family ended up forgiving him. The worker later named his own firstborn son Isaak Mister Tolkien Victor.
#22 V True
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#23 Goosebumps Everytime I Watch
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#24 That Still Counts As One
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#25 Still Impressed By The Technical Quality Of The Movie
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#26 The Difference Is Clear
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#27 It's Gotta Come Out Some Day
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#28 Gandalf Got No Chill
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#29 I Made A Slight Edit
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#30 No Caption Needed
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#31 Rip Sir Ian Holm
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#32 Salt Is Life
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#33 If This Is Our Future Then I Do Not Want It
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#34 Rude
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#35 Thank Iluvatar!!
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#36 No, Movie Is Fine
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#37 It’s Outrageous, It’s Unfair!
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#38 You May Be Stressed
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#39 This Candy Is Beyond Any Of You
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#40 I Think About This All The Time
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#41 When Your Dad Is Never Too Busy To Be A Lord Of The Rings Nerd
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#42 The Ring
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#43 Sauron Can't Relax For A Minute
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#44 He Speaks The Truth
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#45 Gollum Being Useless Was Probably The World's Best Defense
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#46 Bad Manager Saruman
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#47 I Wasn't Prepared
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#48 Normal Way, Right?
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#49 I Know What I'm Watching This Christmas
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#50 Fool Of A Took
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#51 Aye, Legend
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#52 That's Perfect
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#53 Cast_it_into_the_fire.mp3
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#54 Was Watching The Extended Edition Of The Two Towers When This Happened
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#55 What’s Their Indie Folk Band Called?
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#56 I Stole This Off A Fb Group I’m In
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#57 Gandalf Bot Is A Blessing
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#58 All My Theoden Fans Rise Up
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#59 Fancy Yourself A Scholar?
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#60 Sam's A Great Friend
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#61 Just Noticed On A Re-Watch
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#62 Gollums Loincloth, Frodo And Sam
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#63 Hopefully Not A Repost, I Chuckled
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#64 Poor Eowyn
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#65 Longtime Reader First Time Memer
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#66 Did You Know!?
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#67 Found This On Pinterest
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#68 Came Up With This At Work
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#69 9/10 Haargh It!
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#70 Redditors Really Are The Cruelest (Intelligentest)
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#71 Keep It Cool
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#72 The Real Lord Of The Rings
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#73 Scary
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#74 Where Are The Eagles When You Need Them?
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#75 At Dawn, Look To The East! ☀️
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#76 Talk About Imposter Syndrome
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#77 He Played A Ranger Of Gondor Named Golasgil
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#78 You Don't Mean That
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#79 A Good Walk Spoiled
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#80 We Have Finally Decided
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#81 He Really Does Just Come Out Of Left Field, Doesn't He?
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#82 He’s Not Wrong
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#83 Good Guy Viggo
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#84 A Bit Obvious Really
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#85 Sweet Relief
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#86 They Calmed Down A Lot
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#87 That Wound Will Never Fully Heal. He Will Carry It The Rest Of His Life
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#88 When You're Thousands Of Years Old, You've Got To Find Ways To Entertain Yourself
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#89 Nightmare Material
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#90 Which One Do You Prefer And Why?
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#91 Did You Know That Vigo
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#92 Whoa! See That?
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#93 The Best Fans!
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#94 I Don't Remember The Taste Of Strawberries
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#95 We Ride To Aman, Eternal And Chrome
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#96 In Honor Of Going To Rewatch The Two Towers In Theaters Tonight, The Meme That Started It All (For Me)
Image credits: ChunkDarnsty
