Lord Of The Rings Characters Getting Solo Movies?
Ooh, a solo Gimli movie? He's very dangerous over short distances.
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When Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy debuted in December 2001, the fantasy adventure captured the imagination of viewers everywhere. Set in the fictional world of Middle-earth, the films follow the Hobbit Frodo Baggins as he and the Fellowship embark on a quest to destroy the One Ring, to ensure the destruction of the Dark Lord Sauron. The franchise earned 2.98 billion dollars at the global box office, while also winning Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director for Return of the King. Now, it seems like a new batch of movies could be in the works.
The news follows the Embracer Group’s acquisition of Middle-earth Enterprises from The Saul Zaentz Company which owns the catalog and intellectual property rights to The Lord of the Rings. This includes the licensing for motion pictures, merchandising, games, theme parks, and stage productions. As part of the announcement, the Swedish firm said it plans to collaborate with both established and new recipients of these licenses to explore other opportunities including “additional movies based on iconic characters like Gandalf, Aragorn, Gollum, Galadriel, Eowyn and others” from J.R.R Tolkien’s work.
Other upcoming works set in Middle-earth (in which the Embracer Group has financial interests) include the highly anticipated Amazon series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power which will premiere on September 2nd. Developed for television by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay, the first eight-episode season was filmed in New Zealand from February 2020 to August 2021. The project is produced by Amazon Studios, along with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema.
The story is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. It explores the history of the magical realm, beginning during a time of relative peace, and covers all the major events of that time. This includes the forging of the Rings of Power, the Dark Lord Sauron’s rise to power, the fall of the island Kingdom of Númenor, and the final alliance between men and elves. In the source material, these events happen over thousands of years. But they will be condensed for the show.
Amazon acquired the television rights for The Lord of the Rings in November 2017, with a five-season production commitment valued at around $1 billion, The Hollywood Reporter says. As such, the studio was touted as a strong contender to acquire Middle-earth Enterprises when the rights came up for sale came this February. While it seemed like a logical move, so they could do more with the franchise beyond The Rings of Power, Embracer was eventually victorious. This is probably why the series is not billed as a direct continuation of the movie.
However, the story will evoke the memory of the flagship The Lord of The Rings films by using a similar production design. It will also feature younger versions of characters from the blockbusters while showcasing a diverse cast from around the world. Fortunately, no matter who owns the different properties, Tolkien fans have a lot of great stuff to look forward to.
