The Lord of The Rings and Moneyball Mashups Were One of 2023's Last Great Memes

2023 has come to a close, and many are still looking back at everything that occurred during the past twelve months. There has been absolutely no shortage of unexpected Internet trends — and it looks like one hit a fever pitch in the final days of the year. In December, a tweet from @ToLey88 started going viral on X, poking fun at the in-universe reaction to The Lord of the Rings' Fellowship of the Ring roster consisting of so many Hobbits.

@HeylKatme took the joke even further, comparing Elrond's decision to draft so many Hobbits akin to the 2011 movie Moneyball, in which Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) works to rebuild the Oakland Athletics with overlooked or undervalued players. In the days since, fans have had fun drawing comparisons between the two franchises, posting a slew of Moneyball clips recontextualized within the lore of Middle Earth.

Will There Be New Live-Action Lord of the Rings Movies?

In addition to the upcoming animated film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, Warner Bros. has teased plans to work on new live-action films with New Line Cinema and Embracer Group, which currently owns the franchise's rights.

"[Warner Bros. Discovery CEO] David [Zaslav] made a promise, quote unquote, very early on to revitalize some of that iconic, tentpole IP and we're starting to make progress," Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels explained earlier this year. "It's exciting to see how people are coming in and out and how the creative community is embracing this opportunity to work with us. That's going to bear fruit, over time."

Keep scrolling to see some of our favorite tweets from the The Lord of the Rings and Moneyball crossover, and share your thoughts with us in the comments below!