Fantasy New Lord of the Rings movies in the works

samsnee

Ok
Joined
Dec 28, 2006
Messages
23,489
Reaction score
16,768
Points
103
Lord of the Rings: New Movies in the Works at New Line – The Hollywood Reporter

Warner Bros. and New Line are going back to Middle-earth, with the studio making a deal that will allow it to develop more Lord of the Rings movies.

The multi-year deal with rights holders Embracer Group AB allows Warners to develop features based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books and The Hobbit. Embracer Group, the Swedish gaming company, acquired the rights to LOTR film, games, merchandise, theme parks and live productions when it purchased rights holder Middle-earth Enterprises last year from The Saul Zaentz Company.

The move, announced during Warner Bros. Discovery’s investor call Thursday, comes as CEO David Zaslav seeks to assure Wall Street that Warners is very much in the franchise game as he harkens back to the 2000s glory days when the studio was minting money with Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and The Dark Knight trilogy. In November, Zaslav said he would like to make a deal with author J.K. Rowling for more Harry Potter, and initially floated the notion of a Lord of the Rings return.

Peter Jackson directed the Lord of the Rings trilogy, released from 2001-03. The series earned a combined $2.9 billion at the box office, with 2003’s Return of the King winning best picture. Jackson returned to direct The Hobbit trilogy (2012-14). New Line already had the animated feature The War of the Rohirrim on the calendar for 2024.

Rights to the Tolkien works have always been a little dicey and a long-standing legal dispute between Warners and the Tolkien estate went on for years before being settled in 2017. A newer complicating matter from a consumer standpoint: Amazon holds the TV rights to Lord of the Rings, with its mega-budget Rings of Power streaming last year. One question the new series of films will face is how to convince audiences to go to the theater if they can get their fix at home. One big difference here, however, is that Warners now has the rights to Tolkien’s big guns, such as Gandalf, Bilbo, and Aragorn.

And, of course, as much as new movies present opportunities for big franchise swings, they will come under fan scrutiny, just as much as the current Warners franchise plays, such as DC and Fantastic Beasts, do.

In a statement, those working on the projects acknowledge the task ahead.

“We understand how cherished these works are and working together with our partners at New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures, we plan to honor the past, look to the future, and adhere to the strongest level of quality and production values,” said Lee Guinchard, CEO of Freemode, which is part of Embracer.

And Warner Bros. film bosses Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy signaled that they are not interested in a retread of what Jackson has already done, saying in their own statement: “Twenty years ago, New Line took an unprecedented leap of faith to realize the incredible stories, characters and world of The Lord of the Rings on the big screen. The result was a landmark series of films that have been embraced by generations of fans. But for all the scope and detail lovingly packed into the two trilogies, the vast, complex and dazzling universe dreamed up by J.R.R. Tolkien remains largely unexplored on film. The opportunity to invite fans deeper into the cinematic world of Middle-earth is an honor, and we are excited to partner with Middle-earth Enterprises and Embracer on this adventure.”

The deal is a coming not only a coming home for LOTR but also a reunion for De Luca. The executive was the president of production for New Line when the first movie, Fellowship of the Ring, began production, but was famously let go before the movie that movie was released.
 
Oh look. Another fine example of why capitalism sucks. :(
 
The Hobbit trilogy was forgettable garbage; the Amazon show isn’t so bad. That said, why is this necessary? The only thing I can imagine at this point is a post Return of the King world.
 
There are some incredible events in the vast history of Middle Earth that could be developed into films. The main texts have been done though. Rings Of Power has demonstrated how difficult it is to generate content based on notes and nothing else. The world is great, I'll always take a look, but expectations will be low.

Give me a cool new game. I want to explore the land in a medium where bad stories are less of a dealbreaker.
 
This kind of puts that animated Rohirrim movie in an interesting position. Now it’s less “Here’s some random movie we’ve done separate from the show that Amazon has dropped a billion dollars on” and more “Here’s something to tide you over before we dive back in.”
 
God help them if they remake the trilogy. Also, I hate that everything Middle Earth related is now "Lord of the Rings". The Lord of the Rings is just one part of that whole mythology.
 
God help them if they remake the trilogy. Also, I hate that everything Middle Earth related is now "Lord of the Rings". The Lord of the Rings is just one part of that whole mythology.
I’m not expecting them to be attempting that, would be asking for trouble. I guess it’s naming convention and associating the world with known success. I don’t know if Middle Earth has the same ring to it for an encompassing term. Similar to how the show is called Game of Thrones after the first book rather than ASOIAF. The GoT universe has more of a ring to it.
 
Time to right some wrongs and get GDT into Middle Earth.
I’ve got a list of stuff for GDT to be working on but I’ll clear some of his schedule for this.
 
tupac-sad.gif


The Hobbit trilogy was forgettable garbage; the Amazon show isn’t so bad. That said, why is this necessary? The only thing I can imagine at this point is a post Return of the King world.

Money. The answer is always money

Like with every studio right now, they're in desperation mode ever since the streaming wars didn't work out the way they thought. With this news, it's making the shareholders happy.
 
Just Warners trying to recapture the exciting time of the early 2000s when the LotR movies were new and exciting.
 
They'll stretch out the other books into a trilogy. :awesome:
 
If their goal is to develop another saga, the Angmar War is the only thing I can think of that might give them enough material to do so. Outside of that, you're looking at one-off stories (Aragorn's origins, the Hunt for Gollum, Balin's reclamation of Moria, etc).

I'll give anything Middle-earth a fair shot, but I'd be lying if I said my reaction to this wasn't trepidation. This can turn into milking the cow real quick if they're not careful.
 
Just Warners trying to recapture the exciting time of the early 2000s when the LotR movies were new and exciting.
They already tried that with the Hobbit and failed miserably. I say this as someone who unironically loves An Unexpected Journey.

Don't be silly Boom, it's obviously going to be the epic Tom Bombadil trilogy.
Brian Blessed as Tom Bombadil or gtfo. :o
 
Don't be silly Boom, it's obviously going to be the epic Tom Bombadil trilogy.
****.

The Angmar War is an interesting prospect because of its devastating impact on Eriador leading right up to the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It basically reshapes that entire region politically and geographically. Remember Weathertop? The watchtower of Amon Sul where Frodo got stabbed by with Witch-king in Fellowship? You'd see that in its prime during this period. You'd also get to see the wights of the Barrow-downs, which were featured in the Lord of the Rings books but not the movies. The war also shows how the Line of Kings for Gondor and Arnor were broken - thus necessitating the creation of the Dunedain. And hobbits factor into the Angmar War as well, so the filmmakers could include them without them feeling shoehorned (looking at you, Amazon!).

People often poke fun at how Sauron didn't really do much himself in the trilogy and how he was just a useless floating eye. You wouldn't get that complaint with the Witch-king here. Dude straight ****s Eriador up, down and sideways.

Armies, sorcery, monsters and ghosts, plagues and famine. It's the Middle-earth equivalent to the Dark Ages.
 
Last edited:
I think we all know who's playing Tom.

a1l91phxaa0io079ezdp.gif
"I remember when I was a kid, I had a really good time reading...

*unusually long pause while Chris Pratt looks off-screen*

The Silma-what now?"
 
If they really want to surprise me, they would have to set the new trilogy AFTER the events of LOTR.
 
Well, Tolkien was working on a LOTR sequel book before he passed away... but I fear if this is the case, WB might go down the road of the Star Wars sequels in terms of execution.
 
If they really want to surprise me, they would have to set the new trilogy AFTER the events of LOTR.
I'd be VERY wary of that. As much as I complain about storytellers taking creative liberties with Tolkien's work, he at least gave a thorough blueprint. Anything post-RotK is entirely uncharted. There's next to nothing of substance from the professor. Just wouldn't feel right to me.
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top
monitoring_string = "afb8e5d7348ab9e99f73cba908f10802"