THE LORD OF THE RINGS: Warner Bros. And Peter Jackson Have Been In Touch About Plans To Expand Franchise

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: Warner Bros. And Peter Jackson Have Been In Touch About Plans To Expand Franchise

Warner Bros. has big plans for The Lord of the Rings franchise in theaters, and it's now been confirmed that Peter Jackson has met with the studio about their plans for Middle-earth. Read on for details!

News
By JoshWilding - Jun 15, 2023 08:06 AM EST
Filed Under: Lord of the Rings
Source: Vanity Fair (via SFFGazette.com)

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is the most expensive TV series ever made, though we're still not sure if it led to a large enough increase in Amazon Prime Video's all-important subscriber numbers.

Regardless, the show will soon face unexpected competition from Warner Bros. Earlier this year, the studio announced plans to expand the franchise in theaters, suggesting we'll soon see two conflicting visions for Middle-earth on our screens. 

While there's room for both to coexist, the studio - which appears determined to regain past success through reliable and familiar IPs - is thought to be plotting a number of spin-off movies revolving around the beloved characters from Peter Jackson's trilogy.

That means expanding the franchise beyond even author J.R.R. Tolkien's novels, but who better to help them with that than the filmmaker who adapted both The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit into six critically and commercially successful blockbusters?

In an interview with Variety (via SFFGazette.com), Warner Bros. Film Group co-CEOs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy confirmed they have big plans for Middle-earth. 

While no specific quotes were published, the trade reveals that they've "brokered a pact to make new 'Lord of the Rings' films, and visited Peter Jackson in New Zealand to reestablish the studio’s connection to the franchise’s original director."

How involved Jackson and writing partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens will be with these future projects remains to be seen, but this does bode well. 

Warner Bros. previously found itself embroiled in a legal battle with the Saul Zaentz Company-owned Middle-earth Enterprises about whether they were doing enough with the property, with plans for an animated movie - The War of the Rohirrim - deemed insufficient. New owners, Embracer, have settled matters as they look to take advantage of the franchise's popularity alongside the movie studio that released the previous six instalments in theaters. 

What are your hopes for The Lord of the Rings moving forward? Let us know in the comments section.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM Has Been Given A New 2027 Release Date
Related:

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE HUNT FOR GOLLUM Has Been Given A New 2027 Release Date
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER Renewed For Season 3; Story Will Jump Ahead By Several Years
Recommended For You:

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER Renewed For Season 3; Story Will Jump Ahead By "Several Years"

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

Do you have what it takes to write for us?
Want to contribute?
1 2
philinterrupted
philinterrupted - 6/15/2023, 8:39 AM
MosquitoFarmer
MosquitoFarmer - 6/15/2023, 8:41 AM
I'll just stick with the three movies.
Fogs
Fogs - 6/16/2023, 10:24 AM
@MosquitoFarmer - Yes.

And maybe the Hobbit (Maple Edit)
MosquitoFarmer
MosquitoFarmer - 6/16/2023, 10:52 AM
@Fogs - Those movies are fine to really darn enjoyable, but I really don't want to have to sit through the whole of any of them. I will gladly watch the entire Smaug sequence from the 2nd though.
Fogs
Fogs - 6/16/2023, 1:06 PM
@MosquitoFarmer - yeah, I'm with you. The maple edit condenses all 3 in a single one though
Chasekeane
Chasekeane - 6/15/2023, 8:41 AM
I'm so confused who has the IP for LOTR, is it Warners, Amazon or Embracer? Or can they all just do whatever they want with it now?
marvel72
marvel72 - 6/15/2023, 8:42 AM
Well at least that is a good sign, even if we don't really need anymore Lord Of The Rings spin offs.
Tasmaniac
Tasmaniac - 6/15/2023, 8:46 AM
NO. No no no no no. The OT is perfect. Now leave it the [frick] alone. Get him to direct Thor 5 FFS! A serious Thor 5! Come on Marvel, you hopeless bastards!
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 6/15/2023, 8:53 AM
I'm not thrilled with the idea of going beyond Tolien's work, but at least if Peter Jackson is involved it won't be an agenda pushing, box checking, force feeding of ideals.

Here is all one needs to know about why Peter Jackson's series is so beloved, and why Rings of Power is a goddamn joke:

Peter Jackson:
"We made a promise to ourselves at the beginning of the process that we weren't going to put any of our own politics, our own messages or our own themes into these movies. In a way, we were trying to make these films for him (Tolkien), not for ourselves."

Rings of Power creators:
"It felt only natural to us that an adaptation of Tolkien’s work would reflect what the world actually looks like.”

Peter Jackson's approach is how all adaptations should be done.
AscendedExtra
AscendedExtra - 6/15/2023, 8:57 AM
@CorndogBurglar - I wish more writers/ directors took Jackson's approach to adapting other work
TheRose
TheRose - 6/15/2023, 9:17 AM
@CorndogBurglar - Jackson's approach is arguably what makes these films so timeless. The themes are not topical, but universal. It's definitely a strong point of the series.

I know that many would like this same mentality put toward Comic Book/Superhero properties. I'm not so certain it applies. Tolkien's work was purposefully allegoric with broad enough themes not so confined to a single era. However, comics books have ALWAYS been topical. Captain America and Superman were fighting Nazis and Communists, The Fantastic Four are a commentary on family dynamics and the ethical boundaries of science, The X-Men have ALWAYS been a story of fearing other and change within scientific and sociological structures, Green Arrow and Green Lantern tackled substance abuse and breaking down racial barriers. These stories have always been vehicles for authors to tell narratives that are relevant to for the specific audience.

I'm not a fan of box-checking, but I can't deny that Superhero stories seem to be at their strongest when they are trying to speak to the audience. There has to be some middle ground that keeps the spirit of the characters while also keeping that energy devoted to the viewer.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 6/15/2023, 11:09 AM
@TheRose - All of those examples you listed from comics can all still be adapted into movies without putting in other messages or agendas.
TheRose
TheRose - 6/15/2023, 12:48 PM
@CorndogBurglar - I guess my point is that when they were introduced in the comics, they were pushing messages and agendas that were not present at the time. Are we really so surprised that the movies would do the same?

Again, I'm not a fan of pushing these concepts just to check boxes. Ex. PLEASE DON'T CHANGE ETHNICITY/SEXUALITY OF ALL THE XMEN, THEY ARE ALREADY A GREAT DISPLAY OF DIVERSITY AS THEY ARE. But I think no matter what changes or stories are put forth, there is always going to be someone offended because these narratives have always been on the pulse of these topics.
marvel72
marvel72 - 6/15/2023, 4:07 PM
@CorndogBurglar - I remember when they changed the name of The Black Panther because they were worried about being associated with the Black Panther political group.

Now these writers jump on whatever political bad wagon that is the current trend.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 6/15/2023, 5:11 PM
@TheRose - I think we're agreeing? I realize that comics have always had certain messages. X-Men is the easiest, so I'll use them. I would 100% want an X-Men movie to also include the message of acceptance. It's their whole thing. But if they made a movie and suddenly started race and gender swapping, or telling stories about topics that really aren't related to the X-Men in any way, then I think that's a bad move.

For example, I wouldn't expect an X-Men movie to have messages about being a vegan. Or, I wouldn't expect them to essentially change the world the X-Men live in. I wouldn't expect the Morlocks to be anything other than the morlocks.

With Rings of Power they did all these weird things, like race swapping certain races. Having Dwarves without beards.

Things like that.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 6/15/2023, 5:17 PM
@TheRose - But there is quite a difference also. LotR is a medieval fantasy world. Why anyone would think that putting our real world, modern day issues and changing things and races in that highly fantastical world is a good idea is beyond me.

Marvel at least exists in a realistic Earth. It mirrors our actual world with the exception of people having powers. Middle-Earth is a totally different thing lol. So why would anyone think it should mirror our world?
marvel72
marvel72 - 6/15/2023, 8:56 AM
Maybe they could adapt Lord Of The Rings:Gollum PS5.
ImBatman4realz
ImBatman4realz - 6/15/2023, 9:46 AM
@marvel72 - this gave me a much needed laugh 😂
AscendedExtra
AscendedExtra - 6/15/2023, 9:00 AM
IMO, Peter Jackson made 6 damn-near perfect movies. Unless Jackson himself directs an adaptation of the Silmarillion, I wish they would just leave the LotR franchise be. There are countless other book series deserving of live-action treatment out there. Find the next Peter Jackson to adapt one of those.
mountainman
mountainman - 6/15/2023, 9:05 AM
@AscendedExtra - About 50% of the Hobbit trilogy was good and the other half was quite bad. It could have been a solid adaptation like LOTR had they split the book in two and not 3 movies.
AscendedExtra
AscendedExtra - 6/16/2023, 11:13 AM
@mountainman - Well, I enjoyed Jackson's expansion of the Hobbit, so agree to disagree on that one
1 2
Related Headlines
Latest Headlines

Hot Headlines Hot Headlines

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Anime & Manga

Gaming

Horror

Cartoons & Animated Features

Action Movies & TV

Pro Wrestling & MMA News
View Recorder