Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema are cooking up more movies from The Lord of the Rings world.
Just when you thought every possible storyline from J.R.R. Tolkien's books of the same name, as well as from The Hobbit and the Prime Video TV series had been told, Hollywood has found a way to keep the good times rolling.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav announced the move in an investor's call this week, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
However, it's unclear what the movies will be about.
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The rights to The Lord of the Rings empire has been all over the shop in recent years.
Embracer Group AB acquired the rights last year for everything related to Middle Earth, including film, games, merchandise, theme parks and live productions.
The company has done a 'multi-year deal' with Warner Bros., who has the rights to characters like Gandalf, Bilbo, and Aragorn.
I smell an origin story cooking up here.
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Warner Bros. bosses Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy insist they won't be trying to tread over Peter Jackson's three films The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King.
“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," they said in a joint statement.
"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.”
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It will be interesting to see how the new movies fare against a modern audience.
While the first three from Peter Jackson were big (at the box office and in length), the Hobbit trilogy didn't perform as well.
Similarly the Prime Video series The Rings of Power has had mixed reaction since dropping last year.
Lee Guinchard, CEO of Freemode, which is part of Embracer, said they will be carefully navigating their new slate of films.
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“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,” he said.
There's no information on when we can expect to see these on the big screen, so we'll have to wait for that big update.
Topics: Lord Of The Rings, TV and Film
Stewart Perrie