Perhaps the biggest surprise out of the Warner Bros. Discovery Earnings Call in February was that New Line Cinema just closed a deal to bring The Lord of the Rings back to the big screen. So, how will the new WB movies affect The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power over on Prime Video? Chances are, not much. Yet, like everything involving J.R.R. Tolkien or Hollywood, it's complicated.
When it comes to Middle-earth, there are a lot of entities involved. New Line, Warner Bros., the Tolkien Estate, and Embracer Group AB, a rights-holding company. There's also Amazon, who currently holds the television rights to The Lord of the Rings. Though, Amazon brought New Line Cinema into their series as producers, simply to get access to characters and elements present in the films. The newly-announced The Lord of the Rings movies are the result of a deal that closed the day of the Earnings Call. Still, even with New Line in the fold, Amazon finds itself competing for Middle-earth territory in fans' hearts. Rings of Power got off to a shaky start but delivered a solid and gorgeous first season. Any new films are years away, but if Prime Video was looking to build its own Middle-earth universe, it will have to contend with the ever-expanding old one.
New Line & Prime Video's Relationship on The Rings of Power Is One to Watch
The details of what characters and settings New Line's previous rights deal brought to Rings of Power are vague. Still, the partnership will likely continue unless Warner Bros. Discovery is trying to play hardball with Amazon. However, New Line gets some of that epic The Rings of Power budget, without Warner Bros. Television needing to shoot a frame. The partnership also creates a sense of continuity between the films and the show, even if only spiritually. The Tolkien Estate is also involved in the series, with producers giving them creative control over certain decisions.
When the TV rights were being shopped around, Warner Bros. reportedly pitched a remake of The Lord of the Rings with the full HBO treatment. The Tolkien Estate declined, opting instead for Amazon's pitch. Remakes would also be a losing proposition for Warner Bros., and they will more likely tell other stories set in the Third Age. This gives them a millennium of distance from Amazon's story, and access to all the fan-favorite characters Tolkien fans missed in Rings of Power. A young Gandalf film, with Ian McKellan reprising the role in some bookend scenes, is as much of a box-office no-brainer as bringing Spider-Man to the MCU was.
Rings of Power was supposed to be a kind of unofficial prequel to the Peter Jackson movies. Not only is Warner Bros. probably about to make an official prequel, but the new WB movies might end up being the unofficial sequel to Rings of Power. The Tolkien Estate and Embracer Group would like all the adaptations to be complementary or, at least, coexist.
WB's New Lord of the Rings Movies Are Riskier Than the TV Show
On paper, the direct competition to WB's new The Lord of the Rings movies is Rings of Power on Amazon. Yet, in the eyes of the fans and critics, the direct competition will be Peter Jackson's trilogies. The sweet spot for any new film would be somewhere between The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy. The decision to make prequels, sequels or even, foolishly, a remake will be fraught and met with skepticism. The most cynical fans will say that these new films will exist only because Warner Bros. wants to make money. While this is true, the originals also only exist for that reason.
If New Line's involvement in Rings of Power continues into future seasons and new shows, then it's a win-win for Warner Bros. It continues to get a sizeable taste of that Amazon production budget. Also, Amazon's series works hand-in-hand with the Tolkien Estate, something that the Warner Bros. storytellers have been more reluctant to do. In a perfect world, the movies generate interest in the show and vice versa. Yet, WB seems to win no matter what happens with Rings of Power. If it ultimately goes away, WB has its successful franchise to focus on. If the movies falter at the box office, and Rings of Power continues to improve, it can adjust in that direction.
If both new Tolkien efforts ultimately disappoint, Warner Bros. still comes out slightly ahead. Because all that will happen is fans will say the original films were the best. They may even find a new appreciation for The Hobbit, similar to how Star Wars fans reevaluated the prequels in the wake of Disney's takeover. If that happens, be sure Warner Bros. will put out a limited-edition steelbook, collectible Blu-ray of those films for fans to revisit.