A new deal from Warner Bros and New Line Cinema means that “Lord of the Rings” will return to the big screen in the coming years.
What will the new ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies be about?
The specifics of the deal are mostly under wraps. The Guardian reported that multiple movies will be produced based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s books. It doesn’t seem like the movies will revisit the older series of movies. Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, heads at Warner Bros., said, “For all the scope and detail lovingly packed into the two trilogies, the vast, complex and dazzling universe dreamed up by JRR Tolkien remains largely unexplored.”
The “two trilogies” refers to Peter Jackson’s series for both “The Lord of the Rings” (2001-2003) and “The Hobbit” (2012-2014).
Enthusiasts can also look forward to an anime movie called “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.” CNN reported that it’s “a story set 183 years before the events of ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ recounting the fate of Helm Hammerhand, a King of Rohan.”
It’s unclear what else is coming. Variety reported that there was an adaptive rights deal for the books “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit.” Given their length and expansiveness, who knows what could come up in this new series? The Hollywood Reporter said this deal seems focused on the Third Age of Middle-earth, which includes characters like Gandalf and Bilbo. It’s possible that they could be the focus of the new movies.
While Tolkien is best known for “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” (originally published in three volumes), he had written a significant amount of narrative, commentary and history about Middle-earth and characters in the books. His son published this material after Tolkien died.
In fact, his son, Christopher Tolkien, published quite a bit of his father’s material. The Tolkien Society gives a list of his other Middle-earth works, which include “The Silmarillion,” “The War of the Jewels,” “Unfinished Tales” and more.
‘Rings of Power’ 2023
The popular series new series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth. During this time, the Rings of Power are created and the kingdom of Numenor is established.
This contrasts with the Third Age, which is likely the time period of the new movie series. This age features the downfall of Sauron and Numenor. The War of the Ring takes place during this time as well.