*sigh*
Amazon Studios is currently in talks with Warner Bros. Television and the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien to develop a series around the Lord of the Rings novels.
The talks are said to still be in early stages, according to the report by Variety. CEO Jeff Bezos is the one handling the negotiations, but no deal of yet has been set. Amazon and Warner Bros. have so far declined to comment on the story.
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Tolkien’s work has been adapted into an animated film in 1978, as well as Peter Jackson’s infamous trilogy that ran from 2001 and 2003 and collecting a total of seventeen Oscars wins and $3 billion in the process. The show will likely be a reboot of Jackson’s property, as opposed to a spin-off or prequel.
The Tolkien estate has been looking to sell a new series based on the novels with Warner Bros. Television’s assistant for some time, according to Variety. Warner Bros. Television is also the home of New Line Cinema, which distributed Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.
However, this news comes only four months after the two settled an $80 million lawsuit, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Warner Bros. and the Tolkien estate had been in court for five years, arguing over profits from the Lord of the Rings films.
Now, Amazon Studios — the very studio who announced they were looking to find bigger properties just a few months back — is circling in on the property, hoping to give it a Game of Thrones like treatment.
And the internet is, more or less, up in arms about the whole idea. Can you blame them?
Admittedly, we’re left questioning why as well. Given the quality of Jackson’s trilogy, a rebooted tv series seems unnecessary and like a glorified cash-grab, to say the least.
As the show is only in the early arrangements of development, no writer, director, cast or release date has yet to be announced. Let us know what you think of this idea in the comments below, whether you would actually watch a Lord of the Rings series or if you think this is just another example of Hollywood running out of ideas.