It sounds like the plot of a weird fan fiction:
John Lennon as Gollum. Paul McCartney as Frodo. George Harrison as Gandalf. Ringo Starr as Sam.
But in the 1960s, this was almost a real movie.
Yes — The Beatles, the biggest band in the world, seriously considered turning J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings into a film, with themselves as the stars.
And they had big plans.
A Psychedelic Middle-earth
In the mid-1960s, The Beatles were experimenting beyond music — delving into films, art, and surrealism.
They’d just made A Hard Day’s Night and Help! and were eager to try something more ambitious. When they came across Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, they were enchanted by the fantasy, the mythology, and the deep symbolism.
So they came up with a wild idea:
Why not make their own movie adaptation — with them playing the lead roles?
And not just any roles. They already cast themselves:
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Paul McCartney as Frodo Baggins
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Ringo Starr as Samwise Gamgee
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George Harrison as Gandalf
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John Lennon — perhaps most bizarrely — as Gollum
Imagine that for a second: Lennon growling “My preciousss” in his Liverpool accent.
Stanley Kubrick Was Their Dream Director
The Beatles didn’t want to make it a goofy musical. They wanted it to be epic.
So they reached out to none other than Stanley Kubrick — yes, the director of 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange — to bring their psychedelic version of Middle-earth to life.
Kubrick, however, turned them down, reportedly thinking the project was too complex and unfilmable at the time.
But that wasn’t the only roadblock.
Tolkien Himself Said “Absolutely Not”
The biggest problem?
J.R.R. Tolkien didn’t want it to happen. At all.
As the rights holder at the time, Tolkien had creative control. When he found out that The Beatles wanted to star in the adaptation, he was horrified.
He reportedly hated the idea of his beloved characters being portrayed by a pop band — even one as popular as The Beatles.
Tolkien vetoed the project, and just like that, the dream faded.
What Could’ve Been
Imagine a world where The Beatles’ The Lord of the Rings existed.
Would it have been a trippy, brilliant masterpiece — or a chaotic mess?
We’ll never know.
But it’s one of the most fascinating “what-ifs” in pop culture history.
Interestingly, Peter Jackson — who eventually made the beloved film trilogy in the early 2000s — has since confirmed that the story is completely true.
Final Thought
A fantasy movie starring The Beatles may sound insane now, but in the wild, boundary-pushing world of the ’60s, it was almost real.
And if you ever picture John Lennon whispering “My precious” — well, you’re not alone.
