It looks like Embracer Group has found the home for their newly acquired Lord of the Rings rights, as they are moving forward with the development of new films with Warner Bros. and New Line. They have finalized a multi-year deal that allows them to develop films based on J.R.R. Tolkien‘s iconic books.
The announcement comes from the investor call. CEO David Zaslav has already hinted at this potential move, as he looked back to the studio’s “glory days” in the early 200s with franchises like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and The Dark Knight Trilogy. Though, Embracer Group holding the rights left a few questions if they could bring the franchise back.
There’s no word on what exactly they hope to achieve with these rights, as they might simply rehash a story that was already done extremely well by Peter Jackosn, but studio heads Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy highlighted they aren’t here to retread familiar ground.
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. 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.
De Luca actually has a history with The Lord of the Rings, as he was the president of production for New Line when the first movie, Fellowship of the Ring, was in development but ended up being let go before it was released. We’ll see if he’ll still be around when they revive this franchise.
.Source: The Hollywood Reporter
