A few days ago, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that it will produce new movies of The Lord of the rings. This has been possible after closing an agreement with Embracer Group, the conglomerate that currently owns the rights to the popular fantasy franchise. However, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed part of Warner’s plans to take advantage of JRR Tolkien’s stories.
According to the aforementioned media, Warner wants that The Lord of the rings become your Star Wars. The idea, then, is to generate a good number of films, even series, that address different narratives of Middle-earth.
There are a couple of points that would make it easier for Warner to succeed in his ambitious strategy. First of they already have plenty of experience with The Lord of the rings. We must not forget that, in the past, they developed the original trilogy together with New Line Cinema. Some time later, in addition, they “adapted” The Hobbitanother emblematic work of the British author.
On the other hand, but not least, Warner stressed that will once again join forces with New Line Cinema to create the next feature films of The Lord of the rings.
Now, after the controversy that arose with The Rings of Power —from Amazon—, which even dared to contradict Tolkien’s work, fans are concerned that the new Warner movies will take too many creative liberties. However, in the company they have committed to respect the legacy of the trilogies above and Tolkien’s original work.
To demonstrate its commitment in this regard, THR ensures that Warner is trying to close the signing of Peter Jacksondirector of the trilogies of The Lord of the rings and The Hobbit. Undoubtedly, few filmmakers are as familiar with fantasy work as he is —despite the many blunders committed with The Hobbit—.
Be careful, Peter Jackson would not be the only face from the past to join the adaptations again. Warner is doing what it can to bring back Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, scriptwriters of The Lord of the rings. Curiously, the three creatives reacted positively to the announcement of the new films, also revealing that they already knew the news prior to its officialization.
“Warner Brothers and Embracer have kept us informed every step of the way. We look forward to continuing to speak with them to hear their views on moving the franchise forward.”
Okay, so the trio didn’t confirm their return in the joint statement, but they didn’t close the door either. It is evident that the parties involved are talking and, perhaps, in the coming months we will see that the negotiation comes to fruition.
Warner relies on the past to survive
It seems that Warner wants to revive the franchises that, during the 2000s, generated a gold mine for them. Beyond The Lord of the rings, it should be remembered that the renowned producer Akiva Goldsman returned to the company to lead multiple projects. Among them, i am legend 2 and constantine 2.
In addition, it is also known that Warner is dedicating efforts to produce new movies and series Harry Potter. At the beginning of 2021 they signed Tom Ascheim, who since then has served as the maximum leader of the Magical World. His role is similar to that of Kevin Feige in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Undoubtedly, quite busy years are coming for one of the largest production houses in the world. Even DC Films is renewing…