Today, Warner Brothers, alongside Embracer Group Sweden, announced that a new slew of Middle-Earth films will be put into the works under WB executives Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy. They will report directly to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. This comes after the Tolkien Estate sold a majority of the rights to the Swedish gaming company.
“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 (subsidiary of Embracer).
The company wants to create stand-alone Lord of the Rings films with a major US studio but first contacted Warner Brothers after their time on the original Peter Jackson trilogies. Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy sound as if they will not retread the beloved Jackson trilogy of the War of the Ring from the early 2000s. Which won the studio a multitude of Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Picture:
“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.”
Currently, Amazon Studios has the rights to the Second Age characters that appear in the Appendices. Putting together an extremely expensive 5-season series, The Rings of Power. However, the rights only are for television or their streaming service.
Warner Brothers could very well make standalone films set within the Third Age but focus on individual characters like Aragon’s time with the Dunedain Rangers and his hunt for Gollum. As the films could run co-current to the War of the Ring or between both trilogies. While some fans have always wanted to see the First Age tackled with the creation of Middle-Earth by the gods of the Valar. Though it’s unknown if WB has the rights to the First Age under this new agreement.
Lord of the Rings has no set release date
