The Lord of the Rings universe will expand with new movies from Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema, as shared during an investor’s meeting with franchise rights holder Embracer Group today (via THR). These projects will be the result of a deal made between Embracer and Warner Bros., though it sounds like things are in their very early stages, as Warner Bros. is simply looking to plan ahead for the future.
However, Lee Guinchard, CEO of Embracer’s Freemode, did share some promising words for skeptical fans: “We understand how cherished these works are and working together 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 strongest level of quality and production values.”
Warner Bros.’ Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy further explained that these new Lord of the Rings movies don’t intend to retread any of the material covered by Peter Jackson. That means neither The Lord of the Rings trilogy nor The Hobbit trilogy will be prominently featured.
“Twenty years ago, New Line took an unprecedented leap of faith to realize the incredible stories, characters, and world of The Lord of the Rings on the big screen,” Luca and Abdy said in a joint statement. “The result was a landmark series of films that have been embraced by generations of fans. But for all the scope and detail lovingly packed into the two trilogies, the vast, complex, and dazzling universe dreamed up by J.R.R. Tolkien remains largely unexplored on film. The opportunity to invite fans deeper into the cinematic world of Middle-earth is an honor, and we are excited to partner with Middle-earth Enterprises and Embracer on this adventure.”
Embracer only purchased the rights to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings last year, but the company has spared no time in leaving its mark on the franchise. Alongside today’s newly announced feature film, Embracer says it plans to release five video games set in the Middle-earth universe before April 2024. We know about a few of those titles, but the rest are a mystery. Amazon is also in the process of continuing to roll out its Rings of Power TV series, which marks the first time The Lord of the Rings has made the jump to the big-budget television space. It’s clear Middle-earth is already a very big universe, and it’s only going to get bigger after today.
