Okay, maybe that’s a bit extreme, but I’m really worried about the future of the franchise. Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav revealed the company plans to mass produce more LOTR universe movies in the coming years, putting Tolkien’s world back on the big screen.
So, like I said, I’m extremely worried about how Warner Bros. is going to treat the Lord of the Rings movies and the greater universe as a whole.
Obviously, Warner Bros. is in some serious financial trouble with the failure of the DCEU, the poor reception of the Fantastic Beast movies (Harry Potter franchise), and some high-profile flops in their independent movie departments, causing the former CEO to be fired and replaced with David Zaslav late last year.
And, seeing how Zaslav has been ruthless in his changes to personnel, getting certain projects axed and others green light, and the general restructuring of the company since the Warner Bros. and Discovery merger, him announcing that the studio was going to tap into its most profitable and successful franchise is not much of a surprise.
Similarly with Amazon, Warner Bros. has procured the exclusive adaptation rights to the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit books for the better part of the last 30 years, which has led to the uber successful and beloved Peter Jackson 2000’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and his less successful 2010’s Hobbit trilogy.
Now, unlike Amazon, who only has the rights to adapt the two works in series that are told serially in more than four parts/seasons/episodic releases (yeah, it’s complicated), Warner Bros. has access to adapt any part of the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and the appendices of said books into films, video games, etc.
Thus, this has allowed Warner Bros. to produce The War of the Rohirrim animated prequel movie and this new slate of movies without having to negotiate with the Tolkien Estate as Amazon infamously did.
(Amazon-The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power-Official Trailer)
Still, if you didn’t catch the part I left out, all of the access to Tolkien’s other works, such as The Silmarillion, The Unfinished Tales of Middle Earth, Beren and Luthien, etc., that cover practically every single event prior to The Hobbit in Tolkien world’s chronological order is still in the hands of the Tolkien Estate. And those adaptation rights aren’t budging from the grasp of Tolkien’s successors anytime soon.
So, the only thing Warner Bros. can adapt from without access to The Silmarillion, The Unfinished Tales, etc., is either remaking The Lord of the Rings and/or The Hobbit or adapting the events briefly touched on in the appendices of the said novels, such as what Amazon did with The Rings of Power.
And that’s where I’m getting nervous.
Sure, Warner Bros. has a great track record with faithfully adapting Tolkien’s beloved works (unlike Amazon) when the source material is fully before them, but do they have writers talented enough to produce series that can only be loosely adapted (per the restraints of the adaptation rights given by the Tolkien Estate) on momentous events briefly covered in appendices and summaries in a book trilogy that is set thousands of years after the fact?
I’m not so sure given how poorly they handled the DCEU and the Fantastic Beast franchises.
Plus, David Zaslav said that they were going to make “multiple” movies over the next few years.
Clearly, Amazon is seriously struggling to adapt a single series with a rather straightforward premise into a decent show, so how is Warner Bros., a company that hasn’t been able figure out its head from its ass since 2015, going to make multiple compelling LOTR movies without solid source material? I’ve got no answer to that question.
(Image Creator: Warner Bros./Image Source: Movieclips-The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King-Official Trailer #1)
So, I’m going to be cautiously watching how this announcement plays out at Warner Bros. over the coming years, but I’m not getting my hopes up like I did with Rings of Power.
No, instead I think I’ll be sharpening my movie-critic pitchfork just in case Warner Bros. makes a complete mockery of the Lord of the Rings franchise with half-done, soulless LOTR-based movies.
Images Source: Featured Image: (Warner Bros. Pictures) (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Official Trailer 2 [HD] – YouTube)
In Text Image 1: (Amazon) (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – Official Trailer | Prime Video – YouTube)
In Text Image 2: (Image Creator: Warner Bros. Pictures/Image Source: Movieclips) (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Official Trailer #1 – (2003) HD – YouTube)
