The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is the most expensive TV series ever made, but Amazon Prime Video will soon face unexpected competition in the form of Warner Bros. Earlier this year, the studio announced plans to expand the franchise in theaters, suggesting we'll soon see two conflicting visions for Middle-earth on our screens.
While there's room for both to coexist, the studio - which appears determined to regain past success through reliable and familiar IPs - is thought to be plotting a number of spin-off movies revolving around the beloved characters from Peter Jackson's trilogy.
That means expanding the franchise beyond even author J.R.R. Tolkien's novels, but who better to help them with that than the filmmaker who adapted both The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Hobbit into six critically and commercially successful blockbusters?
In an interview with Variety, Warner Bros. Film Group co-CEOs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy confirmed they have big plans for Middle-earth.
While no specific quotes were published, the trade reveals that they've "brokered a pact to make new 'Lord of the Rings' films, and visited Peter Jackson in New Zealand to reestablish the studio’s connection to the franchise’s original director."
How involved Jackson and writing partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens will be with these future projects remains to be seen, but this does bode well.
Warner Bros. previously found itself embroiled in a legal battle with the Saul Zaentz Company-owned Middle-earth Enterprises about whether they were doing enough with the property, with plans for an animated movie - The War of the Rohirrim - deemed insufficient. New owners, Embracer, have settled matters as they look to take advantage of the franchise's popularity alongside the movie studio that released the previous six instalments in theaters.
What are your hopes for The Lord of the Rings moving forward? Let us know in the comments section.