The Lord of the Rings: some hypotheses on what to expect from future films and TV series

The recent acquisition of full franchise rights related to The Lord of the Rings And The Hobbit by the Swedish group Embracer Broup AB will have an impact on the film and streaming industry whose proportions are still to be clarified, but it is a fact that the future of productions related to the world of Tolkien risks taking completely unexpected turns, for the joy (and also for the concern …) of the most avid fans in the world born from the mind of the famous Oxford professor.

As we reported in the original news, the terms of the agreement have not been fully disclosed, but Embracer now has the power to produce films, shows, video games and more based on a variety of Tolkien’s books, including the de The Lord of the Rings. In this regard, the press release issued by the company also included a small preview of what we could expect in the coming years, and it is precisely on these aspects that we would like to direct your attention.

Although these are just sketchy, or even just imagined projects, the first thoughts include the will to tell unpublished stories centered on some of the most recognizable characters of the franchise. Embracer Group made direct mention of Gandalf, Aragorn, Gollum and Éowyn as some potential stars for future films from The Lord of the Rings.

All the characters considered are part of the original trilogy on which the first 3 films of Peter Jackson were based, therefore they are particularly known and loved by the general public, even among those who have not read the original books. Yet, the very longtime readers who have adored Tolkien’s writings they are wondering about the danger of the turn that any spin-off productions linked to a single character could takeespecially in function of the fact that the paper material available is rather thin and most of the things we know about them are mainly present in the trilogy of The Lord of the Rings.

What is practically certain is that we will not see any of the original actors of the Jackson trilogy againat least in a possible main role, since it is very likely that the new productions can go to temporally position themselves among the facts narrated in the Prime Video series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and those of the two Peter Jackson trilogies. So let’s forget about Viggo Mortensen’s Aragorn, Andy Serkis’s Gollum, Miranda Otto’s Éowyn and certainly Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel. The latter character is in fact the least quoted for a spin-off, if we consider that she will have a significant role in the upcoming Amazon TV series, arriving on September 2nd.

If on the one hand having the rights of many of the productions in your hands could allow the birth of a new fantasy line both for television and cinema capable of guaranteeing years and years of productions, the risk of antagonizing the hard and pure “Tolkenians” is very high and we too, as good lovers of original works, are harboring some concerns.

It is not the first time that market needs prevail over the sense of respect for original works, and never as in this case the risk is very high. No one would ever want to be faced with a live action meatloaf focusing on the adventures of Legolas in key ‘let’s kill all the Orcs’ with arrows, or perhaps some disrespectful transposition on Gandalf’s travels among the peoples of Middle-earth, but rather on a narration of the facts proposed in the writings (perhaps it would be better to say sketched ..), for example ne The Silmarillion or maybe on the adventures of Tom Bombadil, just to give two examples that will be clear to those who know the subject.

Although there are no specific plans, it is reasonable to believe that the production machine will be set in motion very soon and consequently even the first information will begin to filter, so we just have to wait and keep our fingers crossed in the hope that the magical atmospheres created by Tolkien are not polluted by a wild need for monetization.