Vanessa Kirby’s ultimate movie marathon: “It’s a lot, but it’s amazing”
Movie marathons are arguably the ultimate comfort night in. Whether it’s the Twilight saga, Star Wars, The Dark Knight trilogy, Harry Potter, James Bond, or even The Hunger Games, committing to an evening to sit in front of the TV equipped with a huge bucket of popcorn and surround-sound speakers is the real deal.
So when Vanessa Kirby recently chose the Lord of the Rings trilogy as her go-to choice for Empire’s ‘Movie Marathon’ picks, the internet naturally reacted with applause and jubilation: finally, an actor who’d rather hang in Middle-earth with the orcs and Gollum than watch an arthouse black and white film from 1950s Soviet Russia.
Speaking to Empire about her choice, Kirby’s eyes lit up as she discussed the trilogy, warning that such a feat was not for the faint-hearted, and that a Lord of the Rings marathon would make “you dream of orcs”. “Around every corner, you think you are going to see an orc because it goes into your brain so much. You have to be intentional about that,” she cautioned.
For those of you living under a rock in the 21st century, the epic trilogy charts the legendary journey of a Hobbit from the Shire and his eight companions to destroy the powerful ‘One Ring’ and save Middle-earth from the dark Lord Sauron. Originally written as three books by JRR Tolkien, the film trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson, follows the same titles.
So, how long would it take to watch the entire trilogy? The theatrical version alone would take around nine hours and 18 minutes, with 2001’s The Fellowship of the Ring holding a runtime of two hours 58 minutes, followed by the subsequent year’s The Two Towers clocking in at two hours 59 minutes, and the award-winning follow-up The Return of the King at three hours 21 minutes.
For the superfans out there eager to get deeper into the characters, lore and emotional depth of one of the greatest movie trilogies of all time, the extended editions take up to nearly 12 hours, clocking in at an admirable 11 hours and 54 minutes. And for those keen to get into the backstory of some of The Lord of the Rings’ most beloved characters, like Bilbo and Gandalf, there’s always The Hobbit to follow up with.
Pedro Pascal, who co-stars in the upcoming Marvel film, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, alongside Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn, opted for a radically different trajectory for his ‘Movie Marathon’ picks. The pair teamed up for the series as part of their ongoing press tour for the film, which will see Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm and Pedro Pascal as Mr Fantastic alongside Quinn’s Human Torch and Moss-Bachrach’s The Thing to defend Earth from Galactus and Silver Surfer.
For his marathon favourites, Pascal, who is known for his love of arthouse films, chose Spike Lee’s 1986 film She’s Gotta Have It, about a woman who can’t decide what kind of man she wants to date, so instead dates three at the same time. He then picked Pedro Almodovar’s 1987 film Law of Desire, which explores a stalker and fan’s obsession with a successful gay filmmaker after they have a one-night stand, and Lasse Hallström’s My Life as a Dog, about a teenager who recounts his childhood in Sweden in the 1950s.
A Lord of the Rings spin-off, Lord of the Rings: Hunt for Gollum, has been confirmed for a cinematic release on December 17th, 2027, which will surely make its way to extend Kirby’s marathon runtime.
