Two nerd touchstones are uniting in a bit of inspired marketing, with official word that the LEGO Group is creating a series of sets based on J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. The toys will be hitting shelves this summer. If history teaches us anything it's that a Traveller's Tales-developed game based on the sets is a pretty safe bet, too.

The reveal was made on LEGO's official site, offering no details aside from the image above. The sets will be arriving in advance of Peter Jackson's upcoming adaptation of The Hobbit, which is due out next December and is being distributed in theaters by Warner Bros..

Warner Bros. Interactive hasn't made any announcements regarding a game adaptation of the license, but it sure seems like a safe bet. The publisher owns Traveller's Tales, the studio known for its LEGO adaptations. The Lord of the Rings series lends itself particularly well to a LEGO game, with memorable characters and locations, and an established mythology. LEGO games have typically been based on licenses with several movies in the can (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Batman), and Lord of the Rings at least fits the bill.

We've reached out to Warner Bros., and we'll report back if we learn anything more.

Dibs on LEGO Viggo.