New ‘Lord of the Rings’ Movies in the Works at Warners, New Line

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**Azreal13**

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 multiyear pact 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 produce LOTR films, games, merchandise, theme park attractions 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, here harking back to the 2000s glory days when the studio was minting money with Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Christopher Nolan’s 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 the Oscar for 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.

In a statement, Jackson and his Lord of the Rings partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens noted they were aware of the latest development. Said the trio: “Warner Bros. and Embracer have kept us in the loop every step of the way. We look forward to speaking with them further to hear their vision for the franchise moving forward.” (Jackson previously noted that Amazon asked him to be involved on its Lord of the Rings TV show but then did not follow up.)

Rights to the Tolkien works have always been a little dicey, and a 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 megabudget Rings of Power debuting 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 is Amazon focuses on the Second Age, thousands of years before the events of the films. The movie rights have focused on the Third Age, when the best-known events happened and most beloved characters lived. It’s possible that Warners now could focus on new stories centering 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 not only a coming home for LOTR but also a reunion for De Luca. The executive was president of production for New Line when the first film in the earlier trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring, began production, but he was famously let go before the movie was released.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/lord-of-the-rings-new-movies-in-the-works-1235332695/

**AegisGrimm**

The war against Angmar and the Witch-King would be awesome, but only if it was done in the PJ style, NOT the Amazon series.

**LordofHats**

I'd watch a movie about the Battle of Erebor during the war of the ring just saying.

**warhead01**

AegisGrimm wrote:
The war against Angmar and the Witch-King would be awesome, but only if it was done in the PJ style, NOT the Amazon series.

This would be the only hook that might get me interested enough to watch a trailer. If it's Amazon-ish I'll pass completely.

**Vulcan**

I'm giving it a vote of no confidence myself. I just can't imagine it being done right at the moment.

**Jadenim**

I’d love it if they did The Hobbit. Two movies should do it justice.

**Vermis**

I get a mental image of a bunch of twitchy dwarves greedily digging deeper, and deeper, and deeper...

**Kid_Kyoto**

Jadenim wrote:
I’d love it if they did The Hobbit. Two movies should do it justice.

It would be hard to top the original!

Spoiler:

Honestly I'd like a sequel set about 5000 years after LotR after the elves have left and the Hobbits have assimilated into humanity and a group of moving picture producers are seeking to tell the tale of the War of the Rings and end of the 3rd age.

**Inquisitor Gideon**

Eh, i'm always iffy when they announce new stuff like this. If it's going to be amazon style garbage, it can go away. But the fact they're consulting Jackson and crew gives a small spark of hope.

In terms of movies, Arnor and Angmar would be interesting. But depending on how far back they can go, the actual Last Allicance could be very good if done well. Gil-Galad, Elendil, Isildur and Aenarion as main characters, a proper look at human and elf interactions, a deeper look at why Harad, Khand and the Easterlings allied with Mordor, Sauron as an actual, physical threat. Could be just as good as the original trilogy.

**Nevelon**

Honestly, unless they got the rights to the Silmarilion and extended works, I’m not sure what they could do.

Rings of Power gave it a shot with rights from just the appendix of RotK, and they had to dance around names and stuff. (IIRC, could be wrong about the rights)

LotR was done as well as we can ever expect to see IMHO. There was a little butchering, but part of that is condensing dense books into movies.

They did a job on the Hobbit. I’d love them to re-do that with more respect for the source material and less for Hollywood playbooks. I don’t mind them adding the white council stuff, as that is what Gandalf was doing when he left the dwarves. But all the love triangle, river chase, etc. Bleh. I should go back and watch the Rankin-Bass version. A classic.

But how many corners are left for them to explore with the rights they have? And how many would make good movies? I could see a “Tales of Middle Earth” series, where they do little snapshots from across the world/time, but not a lot of full length movies.

**Tsagualsa**

Nevelon wrote:
Honestly, unless they got the rights to the Silmarilion and extended works, I’m not sure what they could do.

Rings of Power gave it a shot with rights from just the appendix of RotK, and they had to dance around names and stuff. (IIRC, could be wrong about the rights)

LotR was done as well as we can ever expect to see IMHO. There was a little butchering, but part of that is condensing dense books into movies.

They did a job on the Hobbit. I’d love them to re-do that with more respect for the source material and less for Hollywood playbooks. I don’t mind them adding the white council stuff, as that is what Gandalf was doing when he left the dwarves. But all the love triangle, river chase, etc. Bleh. I should go back and watch the Rankin-Bass version. A classic.

But how many corners are left for them to explore with the rights they have? And how many would make good movies? I could see a “Tales of Middle Earth” series, where they do little snapshots from across the world/time, but not a lot of full length movies.

Beren and Luthien has the basic structure for a good self-contained movie and also has the right mix of middle-earthy themes and 'standard' stuff like romance, adventure and a hero's journey. Also, good/marketable dog sidekick.

**Olthannon**

I don't really want another slew of Peter Jackson directed lord of the rings movies.

Hopefully another director will be involved.

**Inquisitor Gideon**

Beren and Luthien has far too much baggage to work as a standalone film. Plus if there's one story you're never going to see adapted, it's that one.

**Vulcan**

Vermis wrote:
I get a mental image of a bunch of twitchy dwarves greedily digging deeper, and deeper, and deeper...

You mean the ones running the franchise? It's a good metaphor for them...

**Nevelon**

Inquisitor Gideon wrote:
Beren and Luthien has far too much baggage to work as a standalone film. Plus if there's one story you're never going to see adapted, it's that one.

One problem with having such a rich world is all the interlocking threads in the tapestry. Hard to just snip out a little section and have it stand alone and make sense.

You don’t want to have a 15 minute expo-dump at the start just to set the stage for the story you want to tell.

**Easy E**

We need a pre-quel all about Radagast the Brown and how he came to where he was, when he got cut from the movie. Got to fill in the canon you know!

**Nevelon**

Easy E wrote:
We need a pre-quel all about Radagast the Brown and how he came to where he was, when he got cut from the movie. Got to fill in the canon you know!

After his treatment in the Hobbit movies, can we not? Please?

**Inquisitor Gideon**

Easy E wrote:
We need a pre-quel all about Radagast the Brown and how he came to where he was, when he got cut from the movie. Got to fill in the canon you know!

Radagast was in the novel for all of what, two pages? About the only thing we know is that he sent the eagles to help at the black gate.

**Nevelon**

Inquisitor Gideon wrote:
Easy E wrote:
We need a pre-quel all about Radagast the Brown and how he came to where he was, when he got cut from the movie. Got to fill in the canon you know!

Radagast was in the novel for all of what, two pages? About the only thing we know is that he sent the eagles to help at the black gate.

Not even pages. Maybe 3 lines.

**Vermis**

Vulcan wrote:You mean the ones running the franchise? It's a good metaphor for them...

It reeks of desperation on the part of Warner/Discovery. Even in the article:

Warners is very much in the franchise game, here harking back to the 2000s glory days when the studio was minting money with Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.

They badly need a money-spinner and they're scrabbling for ideas, returning to a well that might have run dry over twenty years. Their current superhero films are going down in flames and it remains to be seen if James Gunn can pull something intact from the inferno. JK Rowling retains control of her IP, and both the success and furore of Hogwart's Legacy puts in it in a grey area. Though frankly, JK holding the reins make the Potterverse the safest bet for something of quality, because Rings of Power put forward a very strong impression that whoever holds the rights to Middle Earth these days (some game company?!? Feth, imagine some outfit like GW AoSing up Middle Earth) is all for pimping it out for the dolla dolla bills, and screw any hint of quality, fidelity, or dignity. Add to that a punch-drunk WB and a man like Zazlav who seems to 'get' meaningful entertainment about as much as Bezos does (men whose favourite book is a ledger) and, well, confidence does not abound.

To everyone whose initial reaction is "ooh, I want to see Angmar", "ooh, I want to see Beren and Luthien", "ooh I want to see green elves of Ossiriand gakking in the woods", be careful what you wish for.

**BobtheInquisitor**

It seems like Warner is obsessed with making the next major tent pole movie, with a huge budget and huge risk. I want to see them get the next Charles Band to spin out a dozen low-budget schlock fests until they find an IP that strikes a chord, something like Alien Bayou Terminator, Raunch Puppets Take The Circus or Topless Dodgeball: Arena of Death.

If they insist on adapting fantasy, they should try something that doesn’t feel decades stale.

**Overread**

Nevelon wrote:
Inquisitor Gideon wrote:
Beren and Luthien has far too much baggage to work as a standalone film. Plus if there's one story you're never going to see adapted, it's that one.

One problem with having such a rich world is all the interlocking threads in the tapestry. Hard to just snip out a little section and have it stand alone and make sense.

You don’t want to have a 15 minute expo-dump at the start just to set the stage for the story you want to tell.

Starwars A New Hope managed this rather well.

**Nevelon**

Overread wrote:
Nevelon wrote:
Inquisitor Gideon wrote:
Beren and Luthien has far too much baggage to work as a standalone film. Plus if there's one story you're never going to see adapted, it's that one.

One problem with having such a rich world is all the interlocking threads in the tapestry. Hard to just snip out a little section and have it stand alone and make sense.

You don’t want to have a 15 minute expo-dump at the start just to set the stage for the story you want to tell.

Starwars A New Hope managed this rather well.

A lot of the detail was added after the fact, and was not relevant to the plot. You had a cantena full of aliens, which made the galaxy feel very fleshed out. But who they were and what they were doing did not impact what was going on on screen.

Could you do Beren and Luthien without going into the Simirils and the workings of ages past? Maybe. Just drop the viewers into the mess of the world and drop clues about who and why everything was happening. Those in the know could smile and nod, but I feel that someone without a too-deep background in the lore would just send the run time asking things like “why does that guy hate the other guy again?”

In the right hands I’m sure it could be done. Just not holding my breath.

**Tannhauser42**

BobtheInquisitor wrote:
It seems like Warner is obsessed with making the next major tent pole movie, with a huge budget and huge risk. I want to see them get the next Charles Band to spin out a dozen low-budget schlock fests until they find an IP that strikes a chord, something like Alien Bayou Terminator, Raunch Puppets Take The Circus or Topless Dodgeball: Arena of Death.

If they insist on adapting fantasy, they should try something that doesn’t feel decades stale.

Yep, a "tent pole movie" and its IP that they can milk for movies, toys, games, merchandise, etc.

**LordofHats**

Vermis wrote:
I get a mental image of a bunch of twitchy dwarves greedily digging deeper, and deeper, and deeper...

Oh gak.

That would actually make for the workings of a fantastic horror film if they treated it as a horror film and just put dwarves in it. I'd give that a shot if they made it.

**AegisGrimm**

Nevelon wrote:
Inquisitor Gideon wrote:
Beren and Luthien has far too much baggage to work as a standalone film. Plus if there's one story you're never going to see adapted, it's that one.

One problem with having such a rich world is all the interlocking threads in the tapestry. Hard to just snip out a little section and have it stand alone and make sense.

You don’t want to have a 15 minute expo-dump at the start just to set the stage for the story you want to tell.

Well, that's pretty much what happened at the beginning of each of the Lord of the Rings movies. Each one added a bit more to the story of the ring.

**Voss**

AegisGrimm wrote:
Nevelon wrote:
Inquisitor Gideon wrote:
Beren and Luthien has far too much baggage to work as a standalone film. Plus if there's one story you're never going to see adapted, it's that one.

One problem with having such a rich world is all the interlocking threads in the tapestry. Hard to just snip out a little section and have it stand alone and make sense.

You don’t want to have a 15 minute expo-dump at the start just to set the stage for the story you want to tell.

Well, that's pretty much what happened at the beginning of each of the Lord of the Rings movies. Each one added a bit more to the story of the ring.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. That's... exactly what they did the first time around.

Even beyond that, Beren and Luthien is a pretty straightforward story to present in a movie format. Star-crossed lovers, quest of worthiness, things go bad. Random timeskip & shenanigans for the begetting of future NPCs, then curtains. (and if they want to franchise it, they've got several jumping off points for other characters)

**LordofHats**

They can always make a buddy cop movie about how Legolas and Aragon met

**Voss**

LordofHats wrote:
They can always make a buddy cop movie about how Legolas and Aragon met

Don't manifest that.

Because I can seem them obsessively filling in Strider's 'missing' backstory with all sorts of tripe. The legolas one, the time he rode with the Rohirrim under a different name, the time he wandered eastward for whatever reasons, the time he looked for the entwives, the time he fought random undead in the ruins of Angmar, etc, etc, etc.

**LordofHats**

Well then how about a situational comedy about those years Legolas and Gimli were hanging out in the Glittering Caves?

Or maybe just a human and a hobbit as roommates.

They call it one and a half men