New Line Steps in to Make New 'Lord of the Rings' Films

by Darian Scalamoni

    Warner Bros. and New Line are collaborating on heading back to Middle-Earth. News comes from The Hollywood Reporter that Warner Bros. will allow New Line to use the rights to make new Lord of the Rings movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novels from the franchise as well as The Hobbit. Though the news is a bit shocking considering the last Middle-Earth set film directed by Peter Jackson is less than 10 years old, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav had made it clear that they want to be in the franchise business once again and this deal solidifies his statements.

    In WBD's investor call yesterday, Zaslav alluded to the glory days of the studio which had major IP-building franchises and reliable wins such as Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. The new live-action venture from New Line and WB is far from the only Middle-Earth centered projects in the works or across the entertainment medium as Amazon's mega series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power which is costly but generated a ton of interest for the streaming series. Also, New Line is working on an animated film titled The War of the Rohirrim set for release in 2024.

    Peter Jackson released his Lord of the Rings trilogy in successive years from 2001-2003 before then adapted The Hobbit novels into a trilogy as well from 2012-2014. The third LOTR film, Return of the King won all 11 Academy Awards they were nominated for including Best Picture back at the 2004 ceremony. Despite the film rights heading to New Line, there is a big dispute over the rights to Tolkien's series as Amazon owns the TV rights and are utilizing them for Rings of Power. However, that series takes place in the Second Age, which is thousands of years before the events of the feature films. While the movie rights center around the Third Age so it's possible that WB will look to make new stories focusing on beloved characters such as Gandalf, Bilbo, Aragorn and more.

    What are your guys thoughts on new films set in the Lord of the Rings universe? Do you think they can capitalize on the franchise's potential, or will the new installments play more like the previous failure at WB like the Fantastic Beasts trilogy? Let us know in the comments!