Tolkien fans were incredibly excited after learning that the upcoming Lord of the Rings films would have Peter Jackson working alongside the producer and directors after the response to Rings of Power. The fan running the Abandoned Films account on Facebook was so excited that they shared a series of AI-generated images to show off what The Silmarillion movie (starring Henry Cavill) could look like in the future, captioning it “The Silmarillion (2024) directed by Peter Jackson”.
Beautifully Designed Set Pieces
If Midjourney can do one thing right, its well-designed fantasy set pieces proved no different for many of the images Abandoned Films generated through Midjourney. Himring looks particularly gorgeous. In the AI-generated image, it is a forest-surrounded hill in northeast Beleraid, on top of which rests the fortress of Maedros, the eldest of Fëanor’s (the main protagonist of The Silmarillion) sons.
Accurate Looking Elves
The elves seen in the AI-generated images look like the elves described by Tolkien throughout all his works. Midjourney cast a softer-faced Natalie Dormer as Galadriel, the niece of Fëanor. She was the wielder of Nenya and one of the greatest elves in Middle-earth.
The AI-generated Miranda Kerr’s face for Lúthien, the elf-maiden of Doriath who fell for a mortal. She and her future husband, Beren, proved instrumental in winning the Silmaril back from Morgoth’s crown.
Katie McGrath’s face was borrowed for Aredhel, the White Lady of Ñoldor and the cousin of Galadriel. She was fond of hunting, and her son would eventually betray Gondolin to Morgoth for what had happened to his parents.
Finally, Henry Cavill looks like he has been cast for every elf role (something that fans seem to be more than happy with, judging from the comments under the Facebook post). While it has been suggested that he might be Fingolfin or even Sauron, many believed that the AI had cast him as Fëanor, the second King of the Ñoldor, a warrior and the craftsman responsible for the Silmarils.
As much as Fëanor was a hero in The Silmarillion, his pride and bitterness would be his downfall. Driven by his oath, Fëanor pursued Morgoth until the blow that would kill him was delivered by Gothmog, the Lord of Balrogs.
Inaccurate Designs
Telperion and Laurelin were the Silver and Gold Tree that brought light to the land of Valar. They were destroyed, but the last fruit of either tree was turned into the sun and moon. While Abandoned Films gave us trees that could be considered gold and silver, the design introduced in Rings of Power is significantly better. The AI-generated image just looks like a couple of trees, but in Rings of Power, they look like ethereal creations of light.
The AI also didn’t do a great job with the Silmarils, the most important objects in the story. In the books, the stones are described as moonlight blended with sunlight. However, the stones are supposed to look like white diamonds glowing with silver, and instead, the AI gave us what are essentially yellow, blue and amber coloured Infinity stones.
Midjourney did a fantastic job of bringing much of The Silmarillion to life and showing us what a movie could look like, from the highly detailed AI-generated recreation of The Oath of Fëanor to the long-haired designs of the elf.
Would you like a live-action movie based on The Silmarillion starring Henry Cavill?
