Warner Bros. Discovery announced during their most recent investors call that the company had signed a deal with Embracer Group AB, the holders of the film rights for ‘Lord Of The Rings’, to produce new films based on Tolkien’s works.
Warner Bros. and New Line had worked with the previous rights holder, The Saul Zaentz Company, to make the Middle-earth franchise one of the most successful in cinema history with Peter Jackson’s ‘Lord Of The Rings’ trilogy making a combined total of $2.9 billion between 2001-03. Jackson’s follow-up, ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy, took the same amount between 2014-16. The series peaked with ‘The Return of The King’ winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 2003.
Jackson and his creative partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are aware of the developments.
Warner Bros. and Embracer have kept us in the loop every step of the way. We look forward to speaking with them further to hear their vision for the franchise moving forward.
Peter Jackson
The new films are a separate entity from Amazon’s ‘Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power’ as that is a different set of rights related to different Tolkien works. Amazon had contact Jackson but, according to the director, never got back to him.
The Amazon show could confuse matters for regular viewers and this has been acknowledged by the film rights holders.
We understand how cherished these works are and working together with our partners at New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures, we plan to honor the past, look to the future, and adhere to the strongest level of quality and production values.
Lee Guinchard, CEO of Freemode, which is part of Embracer
Warner Bros. film bosses Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy add they don’t plan to retread the iconic trilogy filmmaker Peter Jackson which opens the possibility for new adventures with the characters from those films.
Twenty years ago, New Line took an unprecedented leap of faith to realize the incredible stories, characters and world of The Lord of the Rings on the big screen. The result was a landmark series of films that have been embraced by generations of fans. But 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. The opportunity to invite fans deeper into the cinematic world of Middle-earth is an honor, and we are excited to partner with Middle-earth Enterprises and Embracer on this adventure.
Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, heads of Warner Bros. film
New Line already have a separate standalone animated feature, ‘The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’, in the works which is due for release in 2024.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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