There will be new Lord of the Rings movies. Warner Bros. wants to revitalize the franchise and tell new stories with well-known characters. This is known so far.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Returns. (Source: Themoviedb.org)
- Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema are producing new The Lord of the Rings movies.
- These are not intended to be a remake of the Peter Jackson trilogy, but to tell new, as yet unexplored stories from the Third Age.
It comes as it had to come: There will be new “The Lord of the Rings” films. Warner Bros. and New Line want to relaunch the popular series. No wonder, after “The Rings of Power” was a great success for Amazon.
A multi-year deal with Swedish Embracer Group AB allows Warner to develop films based on JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. As of last year, Embracer Group holds the production rights for films, games, merchandise, theme park attractions and live productions based around the Tolkien universe.
The plans emerged at Warner Bros. Discovery’s investor call, in which CEO David Zaslav assured Wall Street that Warner wants to relive the great franchise days of the 2000s (via The Hollywood Reporter). At the time, the studio was making big bucks from Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Harry Potter series and Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.
Back in November 2022, Zaslav hinted that he would like to produce more Harry Potter films with author JK Rowling and even mentioned that he could see a return of The Lord of the Rings.
In a statement, Jackson and his ‘Lord of the Rings’ partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens indicated that they were aware of the latest development. The trio said, “Warner Bros. and Embracer have kept us informed every step of the way. We look forward to speaking with them further to learn their vision for the franchise.”
What are the new The Lord of the Rings movies about?
While Amazon’s The Rings of Power series is set in the Second Age, the new Warner films are said to be set in the Third Age again. So we could expect new stories from Gandalf, Bilbo and Aragorn. A direct remake of the Peter Jackson films is not to be expected. Warner Bros film executives Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy said in a statement:
Twenty years ago, New Line took an unprecedented leap of faith to bring the incredible stories, characters and world of The Lord of the Rings to the big screen. The result was a groundbreaking series of films loved by generations of fans. Yet despite the scope and detail lovingly packed into the two trilogies, the vast, complex, and dazzling universe that JRR Tolkien envisioned remains largely unexplored on screen. The opportunity to take fans deeper into the cinematic world of Middle-earth is an honor and we’re excited to partner with Middle-earth Enterprises and Embracer on this adventure.”
Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy
Of course, Warner Bros. has not been spared the displeasure of The Lord of the Rings fans following the release of Amazon’s The Rings of Power. “We know how much these works are treasured, and in collaboration with our partners at New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures, we plan to honor the past, look to the future and maintain the highest level of quality and production values,” said Lee Guinchard, CEO of Freemode, which is owned by Embracer.
It is not yet clear when the films will be released. For 2024 you can expect the animated films “The War of the Rohirrim” and the second season of Amazon’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”.
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