Earlier this week, we learned that Amazon had ordered a prequel series to the fantasy titan The Lord of the Rings—an unprecedented move for the franchise, and perhaps only the first in a long line of new Tolkien adaptatios. Other than Peter Jackson’s film trilogy and subsequent Hobbit trilogy, very few adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien‘s work have come to light. There was Ralph Bakshi’s animated The Hobbit film, plus a stage play here and there and a few video games, but that’s it. Odd, since Peter Jackson got it so, so right, reaping with The Lord of the Rings one of the greatest genre exploits in cinematic history.
So why, then, hasn’t the realm of Middle-earth gone the way of the other cinematic fantasy titan, Star Wars, spawning an omnipresent multimedia franchise like the one to grow overtime from the success of Lucasfilm’s defining property? The short answer is, it’s about to.
Much of the reason we haven’t seen Lord of the Rings prompt cartoon after live-action series after spinoff film is because of Tolkien’s son, Christopher. Christopher, who has managed Tolkien’s estate for years, has been adamant that his father’s work not be widely adapted, so as to preserve the books’ original spirit. However, Christopher, who is 93, resigned in August from the Tolkien Estate, effective this week. The Estate is now free to sell all the rights it wants, and the Amazon deal means it is already starting to. Run, Amazon. Show us the meaning of haste!
(That might not be Shadowfax)
Ten years ago, Star Wars was a near-dormant franchise. Other than The Clone Wars and a few video games, we got nothing until The Force Awakens brought us into the Force-aissance. A third trilogy, spinoff movies, comic books, and now a fourth trilogy means that pop-culture is inundated with Star Wars. Between that and Game of Thrones, every major studio, be it film or television, is chasing that sweet, sweet fantasy money.
And what better way to do that than with an already beloved, largely untapped franchise? Between The Silmarillion (a literal history textbook on Middle-earth) and countless other works, The Lord of the Rings is a rich universe to mine, with thousands of compelling characters and stories. We’re on the cusp of a Ring-aissance, and it will be precious.
What do you want to see spring forth from a Lord of the Rings franchise? Let us know!
Image: New Line Cinema, The Dodo
More on Lord of the Rings!
- Lord of the Rings may become the most expensive TV show ever
- Mordor-inspired fire pits can light up your life with evil
- Andy Serkis reads Trump tweets as Gollum
