(CNN) It’s one of the most popular film series of all time, but Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy only scratched the surface of the rich world of Middle-earth created by JRR Tolkien.
And “several” new films set in Middle-earth are in the works, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav announced in a conference call on Thursday, after studio heads Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy signed a deal with Freemode, a Swedish company Department, signed by entertainment company Embracer Group, which acquired the film rights to Tolkien’s work in August last year. (Warner Bros. Discovery is CNN’s parent company.)
Warner Bros. will produce the films alongside sister companies New Line Cinema and Freemode, “expanding the beloved world and characters of Middle-earth,” according to a statement released by Embracer.
Currently, New Line and Warner Bros. Animation are producing an anime film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, a story set 183 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings and told the fate of Helm Hammerhand, a king of Rohan.
Neither the cost of the deal nor the creative team were disclosed, although Jackson and collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens told CNN in a statement that Warner Bros. and Embracer have kept them “in the loop” and that they “look forward to to continue speaking with them to hear their vision for the franchise’s evolution.”
Jackson’s original trilogy, released between 2001 and 2003, was widely acclaimed, receiving 17 Academy Awards and grossing nearly $3 billion at the box office.
Since then, other adaptations of Tolkien’s books have been produced for the big and small screens.
Jackson’s The Hobbit film trilogy also generated nearly $3 billion in worldwide revenue, while Amazon, which owns the television rights to The Lord of the Rings, released its first season of The Rings of Power in 2022.
“Twenty years ago, New Line took an unprecedented leap of faith to bring the incredible stories, characters and world of The Lord of the Rings to the big screen,” De Luca and Abdy said in a statement.
“But for all the scope and detail lovingly packed into the two trilogies, the vast, complex, and dazzling universe envisioned by JRR Tolkien remains largely unexplored in the film. The opportunity to take fans deeper into the cinematic world of Middle-earth is an honor,” they added.