Cinema returns to Middle-earth where Warner Bros and New Line sign a deal to make further adaptations of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
Warner Bros Discovery executive director David Zaslav announced on a conference call Thursday that a deal had been negotiated to make “several” films based on JRR Tolkien’s books. The cost of the deal with Embracer Group, the Swedish gaming company that owns the rights to most parts of Tolkien’s world, has yet to be disclosed.
The films are being developed by Warner Bros. production company New Line Cinema, which produced director Peter Jackson’s trilogy between 2001 and 2003. These films grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide, with the third installment, The Return of the King, winning 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
In a joint statement to Variety, Jackson and his two closest Lord of the Rings collaborators, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, said Warner Bros and Embracer had “kept us informed every step of the way” about the new films.
“We look forward to speaking further with them to hear their vision for the franchise’s evolution,” said Jackson, Walsh and Boyens.
Embracer acquired rights to The Lord of the Rings films, games, merchandise, theme parks and live productions when it acquired Middle-earth Enterprises in 2022.
“Following our recent acquisition of Middle-earth Enterprises, we are extremely excited to begin this new journey together with New Line Cinema and Warner Bros Pictures, bringing the incomparable world of JRR Tolkien back to the big screen in new and exciting ways.” said Lee Guinchard, CEO of Embracer Freemode.
“We understand how treasured these works are, and in collaboration with our partners at New Line Cinema and Warner Bros Pictures, we plan to honor the past, look to the future and adhere to the highest standards of quality and production.”
Warner Bros’ new heads of film, Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, who oversee Warner films and New Line, are behind the new multi-year deal, which means the studio can develop feature films based on Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books and The Hobbit.
De Luca and Abdy said New Line took “an unprecedented leap of faith” in Tolkien’s world two decades ago, but signaled that new films would not necessarily repeat what Jackson’s films had covered, saying: “For all its scope and the Lovingly Wrapped Up In the two trilogies, the vast, complex and dazzling universe envisioned by JRR Tolkien remains largely unexplored.”
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Zaslav, who has overseen big cuts at Warner Bros Discovery after the media conglomerate was formed from a merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc last year, has spoken about the need for more movie franchises to turn a profit. The media conglomerate on Thursday announced a $2.1 billion loss mostly due to write-downs and cuts from the merger.
New Line and Warner Bros Animation are collaborating on The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim, an animated film set 183 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings. The film, which expands the story of Helm Hammerhand, a legendary leader of the Kingdom of Rohan, is slated to hit theaters in April 2024.
Amazon still owns the TV rights to The Lord of the Rings. The tech giant’s first show, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, cost more than $450 million to produce.