Lily Collins in negotiations to star in J.R.R. Tolkien biopic

Lily Collins is in negotiations to join Nicholas Hoult in Chernin Entertainment and Fox Searchlight's J.R.R. Tolkien biopic, titled 'Tolkien'.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Collins will portray the role of Edith Bratt, Tolkien's great love and eventual wife, who inspired the elven princess characters in the 'Lord of the Rings' saga.

In the movie, Hoult will play the author of 'The Hobbit' and 'Lord of the Rings' book series that were later adapted into two Hollywood trilogies from Peter Jackson.

Anthony Boyle, known for playing Scorpius Malfoy in the British play 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child', also has signed on for the film centered on the famed author.

Dome Karukoski is helming the project, whereas the script has been written by David Gleeson and Stephen Beresford.

The story focuses on the early life of novelist J.R.R. Tolkien as he finds love, friendship and artistic inspiration among a group of fellow outcasts.

When the horrors of World War I envelope Tolkien's life, they threatened to tear this "fellowship" apart, and he questions the very meaning and purpose of his art.

Instead Tolkien finds a way to use these experiences as inspiration for his famous works, among them are 'The Hobbit' and 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy.

'The Hobbit' was first published in 1937. Tolkien then wrote 'Lord of the Rings' between 1937 and 1949 as what was initially intended to be a sequel, but the story became much larger and ultimately one of the best-selling novels of all time with more than 150 million copies sold.