New Lord Of The Rings Movies Are Apparently On The Way From Warner Bros. Discovery
Hobbits, wizards, and elves, oh my! New "The Lord of the Rings" movies are apparently in the works at Warner Bros. Discovery, as the media company announced during a Thursday investor call. Details of the deal between WBD and Swedish gaming studio Embracer, which holds the rights to "Lord of the Rings" films, were vaguely outlined during the call as WBD CEO David Zaslav attempts to forge a path for the company after a tumultuous 2022 that saw Wall Street's faith in the newly formed entertainment conglomerate shaken.
Embracer Group AB holds the rights to films, games, merchandise, and other monetizable elements of "The Lord of the Rings" after they purchased Middle-Earth Enterprises from previous rights holder The Saul Zaentz Company in 2022. The deal with Warner Bros. Discovery and New Line Cinema will allow the companies to share the load of creating new WB films in the franchise.
The news will likely generate excitement and apprehension in equal measure among fans, but Embracer hopes they do not take it as a conjurer of cheap tricks. In a statement from Lee Guinchard, CEO of Embracer subsidiary Freemode, he said, "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."
Gandalf will return to theaters precisely when he means to
During the Warner Bros. Discovery investor call on Thursday, details about upcoming plans for new "Lord of the Rings" movies were as scant as entwives. The studio's film heads Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy hinted at unexplored territory within J.R.R. Tolkien's rich lore, which exists outside of Peter Jackson's original trilogy adapting Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" cycle and the subsequent trilogy of "The Hobbit" films.
In a statement, the two executives said in part, "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."
With few details released, the possibilities for the upcoming "Lord of the Rings" films are numerous. As a result of its deal with Embracer, Warner Bros. has the rights to characters from Tolkien's books, including Gandalf, Aragorn, and more. That provides Warner with a major advantage over Amazon Studios, which spent billions on its "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" TV series.
The deal to produce new "The Lord of the Rings" films comes as Warner Bros. Discovery seeks to put its house in order, hoping to once again rule the cinema (and in darkness bind it) by leveraging its most valuable franchises, which also include DC superheroes and the Wizarding World.