If you're a fan, there's a good chance you already own the Extended Editions of all three Lord of the Rings movies on Blu-ray, but Tolkien purists will soon have the opportunity to watch Peter Jackson's masterpiece as Ilúvatar always intended: as an NFT!
In a first for a major studio, Warner Bros. is hawking The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring in NFT (nonfungible token) form.
Per Variety, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is teaming with blockchain company Eluvio to launch The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Version) Web3 Movie Experience, which will be available in two different editions dropping Friday, Oct. 21 at web3.wb.com.
These NFTs will be the first available in the “WB Movieverse,” a new marketplace that will eventually include other titles from the studio.
“First and foremost, we’re always looking at ways to delight and surprise our movie fans and collectors, and that’s especially true for The Lord of the Rings,” said Jessica Schell, GM and EVP, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. “It lets fans experience the movie in a whole new way.”
"WB and Eluvio are minting 999 copies of the Epic Edition, priced at $100 each, and 10,000 of the Mystery Edition for $30. Both allow buyers to watch the extended version of the film (which clocks in at 3 hours and 48 minutes) in 4K UHD, along with access to more than eight hours of special features; hundreds of images; and hidden AR collectibles. The Epic Edition includes navigation menus for three film locations — The Shire, Rivendell, Mines of Moria — along with location-specific key art. The Mystery Edition includes one of them, assigned at random. The Epic Edition also includes extra image galleries not in the Mystery Edition."
If (for some bizarre reason) you want to purchase one of the NFTs, you'll need to create an Eluvio media wallet that acts as a digital vault and allows consumers to stream and purchase content.
About The Author:
Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.