The Lord of the Rings Hobbits Are Literally Traveling Together and the Plane Photo Is Everything
Few things in Hollywood carry the kind of warmth that a genuine, decades-long cast friendship does. The stars of ‘The Lord of the Rings‘ have long been celebrated not just for the legendary trilogy they brought to life, but for the remarkable bond they forged while making it. More than two decades on, that fellowship is as real as ever, and a candid photo snapped by Dominic Monaghan of the cast and crew sharing a plane is the latest sweet reminder.
The image captures a cheerful group spread across the rows of a commercial aircraft, pulling faces and waving at the camera with the kind of easy, comfortable energy that only comes from people who genuinely enjoy each other’s company. The playful caption riffed on Gandalf’s iconic line from the films, reading “Fly you fools!” and the internet, predictably, lost its collective mind over it.
The timing of the reunion flight makes complete sense given everything currently happening in the Middle-earth world. Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan are reuniting with fans for An Evening with the Hobbits: In Celebration of 25 Years, a once-in-a-quarter-century celebration featured at 11 FAN EXPO HQ shows across North America throughout 2026. Kicking off at FAN EXPO New Orleans on January 10, 2026, the tour makes stops in cities including Portland, Orlando, Calgary, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto, before wrapping in Dallas on September 12, 2026. With that many cities on the schedule, it is no surprise the group has found themselves sharing flights along the way.
According to Fan Expo HQ, the event is “part variety show, part storytelling session, and all fun,” with on-stage panels filled with behind-the-scenes stories. The warmth visible in Monaghan’s plane photo suggests fans attending any of the tour stops are in for something genuinely special. At a recent FAN EXPO appearance, Elijah Wood reflected on the milestone, saying “To be celebrating this milestone, a quarter of a century, just feels abstract. It still feels like the films are really present. The fact that we’re spending this kind of time at conventions with fans and doing shows like this, it keeps it so fresh for us. It’s such a massive, continual part of our lives.”
The 25th anniversary celebrations have extended well beyond the tour itself. Empire Magazine brought the four hobbits together with Sir Ian McKellen for a brand new interview and photo shoot, and in that conversation, Monaghan described the bond the cast formed during filming as immediate, explaining “It was an immediate connection, specifically between the nine fellows in the Fellowship, where they just said, ‘Oh, that’s what you like? Can I enjoy it with you?'” Elijah Wood added that the experience carried “a really specific alchemy” that had never been replicated elsewhere in his career, rooted in the extraordinary length of time the cast lived and worked together in New Zealand.
The friendship between Monaghan and Boyd in particular has evolved into a full creative partnership, with the two starring together in a travel and food TV show called ‘Billy and Dom: Eat the World’, which premiered in April 2025. Seeing them now on an actual plane together, surrounded by crew and castmates, feels like the most on-brand possible continuation of that adventure. If a commercial flight filled with ‘Lord of the Rings’ alumni does not make you feel something, your heart may be made of stone, or perhaps dark matter forged in the fires of Mount Doom.
Are you heading to any of the An Evening with the Hobbits tour stops, and do you think this fellowship of lifelong friends will ever stop finding reasons to board a plane together?
