Warner Bros has reached an agreement with New Line and Embracer Group AB to bring a new Lord of the Rings movie to the big screen. The multi-year deal is Warner’s latest attempt to revive one of its franchises.
Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav wants to bring franchises back. The executive has been open about his intentions to reboot multiple Warner Bros properties, including Harry Potter and now Lord of the Rings.
Middle-earth Enterprises will be the company responsible for this new venture into the universe created by J.R.R. Tolkien. The company was recently acquired by Embracer Group AB.
“We’re thrilled to embark on this new collaborative journey with New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures, bringing the incomparable world of J.R.R. Tolkien back to the big screen in new and exciting ways,” said Lee Guinchard, CEO of Freemode, an operative of Embracer Group.
In the announcement, the executives didn’t expand on what part of the story would these new movies be covering.
“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,” said Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, CEOs and co-chairs at Warner Bros Picture Groups.
There are two different deals in place when it comes to Tolkien’s state. The first part is temporarily owned by Amazon. The company closed a $250 million deal with the Tolkien state for a five-season commitment to be produced for streaming. The result of this deal is Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The series debuted in September 2022 with mixed reactions from the audience and is currently in development for season two.
Middle-earth Enterprises, on the other hand, owns exclusive rights to multiple pieces of work by Tolkien. This ownership includes The Lord of the Ring and The Hobbit. Middle-earth Enterprises has the right to produce motion pictures, games, merchandising, and stage productions based on these intellectual properties.
New Line and Warner Bros Animation are currently producing The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. This animated movie follows the story of House of Helm Hammerhand and is set 183 before the original trilogy.
On social media, fans had negative reactions to the announcement. Many asked Warner to improve The Rings of Power before thinking of a reboot.
The only problem is that Warner is not in charge of The Rings of Power, and the new movies are not reboots. Also, both projects are in the hands of different companies. The Rings of Power is owned by Amazon Studios and is working alongside New Line Cinema, a completely different group of executives.
The negative feedback is full of misinformation. Fans are asking Warner Bros to stop the reboots when the studio is not intending to reboot the original trilogy. The Lord of the Rings trilogy earned 17 Oscars, messing with this legacy is not something that Warner intends on doing.
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