For another film was made…
New Line Cinema and Warner Brothers have announced plans to forge new Lord of the Rings films. It’s been over 20 years since the first Lord of the Rings film arrived in theaters, directed by Peter Jackson. The following films in the trilogy released over the next couple of years, and this coming December will in fact mark the 20th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The third film took home the Academy Award for Best Picture.
So it’s no wonder that studios would wish to make more. Jackson directed a follow-up trilogy adapting The Hobbit starting in 2012. Though these films were not as well-received as the original trilogy, they grossed nearly $3 billion at the box office. Financially, they performed about as well as the original trilogy.
Interestingly, the rights to make adaptations of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien were purchased last year by a Swedish gaming company, of all things. Embracer Group now has the adaptation rights to the two works, though these do not include publication rights or rights to other works by the author, like The Silmarillion.
As such, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. brokered a multi-year deal with Embracer, announced during an invested call on Thursday. Pertaining to the deal, Warner Bros. Film Group co-chairpersons Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy released this statement:
“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.”
Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema have yet to announce whether they plan on making another trilogy or one film to rule them all.
In the meantime, the two studios have an animated film already in the works, entitled The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.
