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The hobbits want to return to The Shire
Greetings and thank you for reading the premier issue of Valar, the magazine from Middle-earth Blog.
 Valar is a round up of the previous month's news from Middle-earth.
 This month there has been some twinklings of news about The Hobbit movie by the wonderful Guillermo del Toro, like the possibility of Merry returning in the second film.
 Dominic Monaghan has expressed great interest in returning to Bag End for one of the two prequels due out in 2011/12. He said that he would be available if del Toro wanted him and he added that Elijah Wood, Sean Astin and Billy Boyd were also eager to reprise their roles as the hobbits.
 But we all know that The Hobbit was set before any of the hobbits in The Lord of the Rings had been born, so it wouldn't be possible to include them in The Hobbit. However, some have suggested that they could appear in the second film, which is rumoured to bridge the gap between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, likely focusing on Sauron's growing shadow over Middle-earth.
 Hopefully the hobbits won't be just included to satisfy the fans and the actors and actually provide a concrete role in the film. We shall have to wait and see.

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The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun

HarperCollins will be publishing a new book by J.R.R. Tolkien in May based on the epic Norse poems known as the Volsunga Saga.
 The book is called The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun, a rare and elusive modernization of the saga that Tolkien penned in the 1920s and 30s while he was professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford.
 The book, which is written completely in verse, will be edited and introduced by Christopher Tolkien.
 More details are to follow, but it is likely that Alan Lee will provide the illustrations for The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun like he has done in previous Tolkien books.
 




Lord of the Rings: Conquest fails to conquer
This month saw the release of a much anticipated title from Pandemic Studios, Lord of the Rings: Conquest.
 The game is based around the engine used for Star Wars Battlefront, where you take on the role of a warrior, archer, mage or scout and take part in some of the greatest battles in Middle-earth.
 Sounds great on paper, but in action it has been criticized for its clunky gameplay and sub-par graphics.
 However, its saving grace is that Conquest plays well online, allowing you to team up and do battle against others around the world.
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