A ‘Lord Of The Rings’ TV Series Could Be In The Works, Precious
Fans are divided.
Huge news, nerds: a TV show based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic Lord of the Rings books could be on its way to the small screen.
Variety has reported that the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien and Warner Bros. Television are in discussions with Amazon Studios to adapt a series from the classic fantasy novels. While no deal has been struck yet, it’s reported that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is personally involved in the negotiations.
While it’s generally uncommon for Bezos to be involved with dealmaking at Amazon Studios, he’s apparently a big fan of high fantasy and science fiction. Case in point, here he is dressed as an alien from Star Trek.
Bucket list. Cast, crew and Justin Lin @trailingjohnson were amazing. #StarTrekBeyond https://t.co/VJ95D8pQeK
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) July 20, 2016
There’s no word yet on what form the TV series will take, such as a straight reboot of the immensely popular, Academy Award winning film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, or perhaps something based on the rich source material that Tolkien wrote about the world around the novels. Perhaps the series will be more akin to the popular video game franchise Middle-earth: Shadows of Mordor, which is set in Tolkien’s world-building legendarium, and narratively sits between the events of The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring.
Warner Bros. Television Studio and the Tolkien estate have been shopping around the potential LoTR series following the settlement of a massive lawsuit that’s been dragging on since 2012. The dispute pitted the estate and publisher HarperCollins on one side, against Warner Bros. on the other, over the use of characters from the movies in video games.
The news of a possible TV adaptation has divided fans.
The "Lord of the Rings" Trilogy is a masterpiece & does not need to be made into a TV series.??
That is all.? pic.twitter.com/lnL0GNrKmU
— ✮✯NiKKi✯✮ (@HeyNikki1) November 4, 2017
Amazon: we want to make a Lord of the Rings TV series
Me: pic.twitter.com/nyRzMom1HA
— GOAT Movie Podcast (@GOATfilmpodcast) November 4, 2017
Amazon wants to do a Lord of the Rings series. pic.twitter.com/hpsqrJj0Mf
— Eric Vespe (@EricVespe) November 4, 2017
Lord of the Rings tv series, no…but a Middle Earth tv series based on stories from The Silmarillion = the only way to do The Silmarillion.
— Jeremy Jahns (@JeremyJahns) November 4, 2017
i just heard Amazon wants to make Lord of the Rings into a TV show… pic.twitter.com/cmQaYLq7ox
— Axeman Cartoons (@CartoonsAxeman) November 4, 2017
Still, considering we’re in a golden era of genre television, with shows like Game of Thrones and Stranger Things drawing in massive viewership, sure the rewards outweigh the risk?
—
Via Variety