Prepare to return to Middle-earth! The Lord of the Rings will be entitled to new films on the big screen!
After the first season of the Rings of Power, which divided the fans, Warner Bros announced the start of new films stamped Lord of the Rings!
Last August, the Swedish company Embracer acquired Middle-earth Enterprises, a firm that owns all of JRR Tolkien’s work.
“I am very happy to see The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, two of the most epic fantasy franchises around, join the Embracer family. This will allow a whole host of possibilities in terms of transmediality, but also a lot of synergy within the group as a whole.”said Lars Wingefors, president of the Swedish company, in August 2022.
On February 23, 2023, Warner Bros Discovery, by the voice of its CEO David Zaslav, therefore announced a partnership with Embracer. This agreement was reached in order to launch the production of new films around the franchise of the Lord of the Rings.
These feature films will be produced under the leadership of New Line Cinema, a Warner subsidiary, as will the two Peter Jackson trilogies.
“The Lord of the Rings is one of the greatest franchises of all time, we can’t wait”enthused David Zaslav.
“Twenty years ago, New Line demonstrated an unprecedented blind faith in bringing the incredible stories, characters and world of The Lord of the Rings to film. The result has yielded a monumental series of films that have been endorsed by generations of fans”said Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, co-presidents of Warner Bros. Pictures Group.
“However, for all the breadth and detail lovingly transcribed in the two trilogies, the vast, complex and vivid universe imagined by JRR Tolkien remains largely unexplored in cinema”they added.
“The opportunity to invite fans to take a deep dive into the cinematic world of Middle-earth is an honor, and we are thrilled to partner with Middle-earth Enterprises and Embracer on this adventure.”concluded the two leaders.
The big question that immediately arose after this revelation was: will Peter Jackson be involved in the production of these films? The director and his writing partners, Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh, reacted to this announcement in the columns of Deadline.
If they remain rather evasive and mysterious concerning their participation, the American media ensures that “if they didn’t say yes, they certainly didn’t say no”.
“Warner Bros. and Embracer have kept us updated every step of the way. We look forward to speaking with them to hear their vision for the future of the franchise.”said the trio.
This statement is rather encouraging, knowing that the three artists had not been involved in the production of the series The Rings of Power, released last year on Prime Video.
No information was given on the nature of the agreement between Embracer and Warner Bros. Will we be entitled to a new adaptation of the original trilogy or different spin-offs? We will know more in the months to come. In any case, an animated film is already planned for April 10, 2024, The War of the Rohirrim.
This artwork will focus on the mighty King of Rohan, Helm Hammerhand, and a legendary battle that helped shape Middle-earth. The action will take place around 250 years before Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Note that Warner has also announced their intention to produce new feature films around the Harry Potter license. The future therefore looks magical for the studio.