Last month, a premature listing on a UK retailer’s website and the announcement of a line of themed toys tipped us to the fact that a Lego Lord of the Rings game was in the pipeline. We expected the unveiling to take place some time around E3 – and it appears that has come to pass.

Today, game was confirmed with the launch of the first trailer – and I must say it looks great.

Of course, fans of the previous Lego games and fans of Tolkein or the epic film trilogy already knew that we had a winner on our hands. We’ve already seen what developer Traveller’s Tales can do with epic storylines – their Lego Harry Potter games were a load of fun. The Lord of the Rings provides another (possibly more) intense and thorough journey that will surely fit the sometimes comical, laid back tone of the Lego franchise quite well.

Ok, I’m probably a little too excited about this. But check out the trailer and maybe you’ll be just as thrilled as I am:

I’m sure you noticed that our little Lego version of Gandalf and Frodo have been given dialogue straight from the films – something new to the Lego series. Other than that, we can expect the same cooperative play and puzzle solving that has made the previous Lego games such big hits:

LEGO The Lord of the Rings is based on The Lord of the Rings motion picture trilogy and follows the original storylines of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Now the entire family can team up in pairs as adorable LEGO The Lord the Rings minifigures to experience countless dangers, solve riddles and battle formidable foes on their journey to Mount Doom.

“We are huge aficionados of The Lord of the Rings franchise and are incredibly excited to put our special LEGO family-friendly touch on this classic fantasy adventure,” said Tom Stone, managing director, TT Games. “We’ve taken what fans are familiar with and love about The Lord of the Rings films and combined it with the playful LEGO style, which makes the story and gameplay accessible to gamers of all ages.”

The game will hit shelves this fall, and hopefully we’ll see more at E3 next week.