
More Rings to Rule Them All? Amazon, Warner Bros. Battle Over Tolkien’s Universe
By Movieguide® Contributor
Warner Bros. recently announced they will be making new THE LORD OF THE RINGS movies, creating direct competition to Amazon’s series THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER.
Warner Bros. hopes to include Peter Jackson, Fran Welsh and Philippa Boyens, who wrote for the immensely popular THE LORD OF THE RINGS (2001-2003) trilogy, in the studio’s upcoming THE LORD OF THE RINGS movies.
While this increase in content is exciting for fans, it is unclear if Middle Earth is big enough to support two competing companies.
While Tolkien’s world is incredibly detailed, the bulk of the story centers around two well-worn tales—the story surrounding THE HOBBIT and the battle for the “one ring”—with little content extending beyond.
Warner Bros. will cover Middle Earth’s third age, exploring the stories of Gandalf, Aragorn and hobbits. However, since Jackson already told much of their stories in the original trilogy, it remains to be seen how Warner Bros. will create something new.
Meanwhile, Amazon will cover Middle Earth’s second age, which is less explored but has much less source material to work with.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS fandom is extremely loyal to Tolkien’s original content, and even minor deviations from that lore can cause extreme backlash. Despite this, Warner Bros. hopes to turn THE LORD OF THE RINGS into a media powerhouse, similar to that of STAR WARS or the MCU.
However, Amazon has already invested deeply into THE LORD OF THE RINGS franchise, spending $1 billion on the first season of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER and committing to 50 hours of content over five seasons of the show.
The first season was met with mixed to positive reviews, yet still drew in at least 100 million people and drove more Prime Video sign-ups than the company’s next four biggest originals combined.
Movieguide® recently recognized the show’s excellence, giving it the award for Best Mature Audience Television at this year’s Movieguide® Awards.
Showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne have promised a bigger and better season two following the first season’s stumbles.
As both companies compete in the same space, viewers have yet to see if either will find success.
Movieguide® previously reported on Warner Bros. plans for THE LORD OF THE RINGS:
Warner Bros. and New Line recently announced plans to revisit author J.R.R. Tolkein’s Middle Earth with new LORD OF THE RINGS movies.
A new partnership with rights holders Embracer Group AB will let Warner Bros. make new feature-length movies based on Tolkein’s books.
The announcement came after CEO David Zaslev made it clear that Warner Bros. is a contender in the “franchise game,” noting that they also plan to reach out to author J.K. Rowling for future HARRY POTTER projects.
So far, Peter Jackson is the only director to have adapted Tolkein’s books into movies. Jackson’s LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, which was released from 2001-2003, combined for almost $3B at the box office.
The final movie, RETURN OF THE KING, earned the Oscar for best picture in 2003.