Fans of high fantasy can look ahead to yet another monumental boon as reports detailing Warner Bros and New Line’s plans for new film additions to theLord of the Ringsfranchise. This news comes at a time when several shows, films, and other media inspired by the franchise are making headlines.
Serving as a collective identity for both the book trilogy the name originates from and other related works by the singularly talented author J.R.R. Tolkien, theLord of the Ringsfranchise tells tales of Middle Earth, an epic, sprawling backdrop for riveting adventure and intrigue meant to supplement what the author saw as the lost stories and folklore of Britain. Holding cultural value beyond storytelling, the core Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and other related works from Tolkien helped create, define, anddifferentiate the high fantasy subgenre from others. The franchise has seen success from adaptations in the past, primarily the Peter Jackson adaptations of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
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That subgenre has grown into a mainstream draw that commands attention from audiences across the board, and the original franchise behind the magic seems poised to get back in on that action. As per reports fromThe Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros Discovery is making moves to work on newLord of the Ringsprojects. More specifically, the company wants to make multiple new films in the franchise through New Line Cinema. This decision is timely, as shows in the genre have been smashing records and garnering cult followings recently, with the now-legendary showGame of Thronesonlybeing outdone by its successorHouse of the Dragon.
The news was revealed by Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav during an investor call on Thursday. Zaslav alsoexpressed a desire for moreHarry Pottercontent from J.K. Rowling, similar to the current plans forLord of the Rings. This is another play in the company’s proposed return to its previous form, focusing on franchises for massive profits. This was the case in the 2000s when the company had both the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Harry Potter franchise films in circulation, as well as the equally successful Dark Knight trilogy in the mix.
While the genre is popular and Warner Bros certainly has a potential gold mine on its hands, the days of fan-favorite franchise adaptations being seen as a sure win are quickly fading, with several high-profile examples of lackluster reboots, re-imaginings, and continuations of incredibly popular IPs falling flat in front of the fans. The most worrying example for Warner Bros at this time would be Amazon’sThe Rings of Power,a project that cost the company nearly a billion dollarsbut failed to garner the expected acclaim that would previously have been expected from a high-budget Middle-Earth adaptation. Whether or not these subsequent iterations will learn and succeed where that adaptation failed remains to be seen.
