Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Lord of the Rings fans praise decision to bring back deceased star without using AI

‘Christopher would’ve wanted this,’ said the film’s screenwriter

Greg Evans
Wednesday 30 October 2024 07:12 GMT
Comments
Trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Lord of the Rings fans have praised a decision to bring back Christopher Lee as Saruman by using archive footage rather than artificial intelligence.

Lee died in 2015, aged 93, having played Saruman in five different Lord of the Rings films. from The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001 to The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies in 2014, which was the last film he starred in to be released during his lifetime.

Despite his death, Lee’s voice will actually appear in the forthcoming anime prequel film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim from Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex director Kenji Kamiyama.

Speaking to Lord of the Rings fansite The One Ring, screenwriter Philippa Boyens moved to reassure fans that Lee’s legacy as the character would not be tainted by the use of AI but they will instead be using archive footage.

Boynes said: “I reached out to Gitte (Lee’s wife), who is sadly no longer with us, and she said the thing that I think Peter [Jackson] felt in his heart. Christopher would’ve wanted this.”

She added: “We based it on a line from The Hobbit… and we thought, okay, that’s a line we can see how many takes he did of that. Can we use it? Can we find a new read on it and change it up a little bit? And our brilliant guys did that. But it is an authentic bit of Christoper Lee’s performance that it’s based on that line.”

The decision has been widely praised by fans of the franchise for refraining from using AI, something that the likes of Star Wars have been criticised for, in comparison.

“Using archival recordings instead of AI? Another proof of Lord of The Rings being the best franchise ever,” one fan wrote.

Another said: “No AI! That’s great. Christopher Lee is a legend.”

A third added: “This is how you use a deceased actor. Unused dialogue or cut takes, and find a way to work around it. There’s been a few movies that have done this pretty effectively over the years, and it also uses no AI.”

Apple TV+ logo

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled

Try for free
Apple TV+ logo

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled

Try for free
Christopher Lee as Saruman
Christopher Lee as Saruman (Warner Bros)

The new film, which is set to be released on 13 December, is set 183 years before the events of the main Lord of the Rings trilogy and tells the story of Helm Hammerhand, a king of Rohan, whose family are forced to defend their land against an army of Dunlendings.

The anime will feature the voice talents of Brian Cox, Luke Pasqualino, Miranda Otto, Shaun Dooley and Gaia Wise among others.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in