Lord of the Rings: Stunning Art Reimagines Middle Earth as Ancient China

 A talented digital artist reimagines iconic locations and characters from The Lord of the Rings’ Middle-earth in the style of Ancient China.

A digital artist has recreated iconic locations from The Lord of the Rings’ Middle-earth in the style of Ancient China. The Lord of the Rings is regarded as the most significant series in modern fantasy literature, and much of its lore is inspired by ancient Norse mythology. The film trilogy recently celebrated the 20 year anniversary of its debut, The Fellowship of the Ring, reminding fans just how long it’s been since it began back in 2001. Each installment in the landmark series, directed by Peter Jackson and adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien’s seminal fantasy novel, received a coveted Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, and The Return of the King managed to win the award alongside plenty of others.

Despite the series’ age, interest in The Lord of the Rings remains as high as ever. Fans are still eager to stay up to date with behind the scenes news about the series, such as the recent revelations that the studio behind the films pressure Jackson to kill off some of the main Hobbits. As well as continuing to generate news, the fantasy series provides a particularly rich source of inspiration for artists of all varieties, with one fan recently recreating the battle of Helm's Deep in Lego form. 

Now, in images shared to Twitter, a digital artist has shown what Middle-earth might have looked like if it was inspired by Ancient China. The images show various iconic locations and characters from the series, including Hobbiton and the king of Rohan, Théoden, in a completely different style to what audiences have seen before. The artist, who uses the Twitter handle @leiahamart described the reasoning behind the art, saying that the idea of an Ancient China inspired Lord of the Rings had “haunted me for years.” 

The artwork is a stunning take on classic images from The Lord of Rings series. The characters and locations of The Lord of the Rings have been reimagined and reworked countless times by different artists, but rarely in such a bold and imaginative manner. Fans will be delighted to see a completely new take on the content of The Lord of the Rings, but one still that manages to capture and maintain what makes the fantasy series so unique and beloved. 

Moving forwards, the future of The Lord of the Rings appears to be TV based. A new series based on the lore of Middle-earth has been in development for several years, hoping to capitalize on the renewed interest in fantasy TV generated by the success of Game of Thrones and The Witcher. The first season of the news series is scheduled to hit screens towards the end of 2022, though little remains known about the project or its content. Until then, fans will need to wait until more news breaks to learn more about the series, and in the meantime be content with appreciating the talent of artists willing to share their takes on The Lord of the Rings.