It was recently revealed that Netflix wanted to bring The Lord of the Rings back to live action, this time in the form of a series. But the pitch clearly didn't sit right with the Tolkien estate, as Netflix apparently suggested a "Marvel approach," which caused concern and lost the streaming service the deal. However, while there's a stigma around Marvel's current approach to media, it offers huge potential for retelling J.R.R. Tolkien's stories more accurately than ever before.
During a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, an insider claims that multiple companies had been pitching their take on the Middle-earth franchise. But with Netflix offering a Marvel-style production with multiple series focusing on different characters, the estate "completely freaked out" and refused to cooperate. And clearly, whatever Amazon offered was far more appealing, as The Rings of Power began production shortly after.
Marvel Currently Has a Stigma Around It
It's known that the Tolkien estate (most notably Tolkien's son) weren't the biggest fans of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. While fans see it as a huge accomplishment for cinema, the estate believed the movies strayed too far from the source material. But judging by their reaction to a "Marvel approach," they clearly have the same distaste for what the Marvel Cinematic Universe is currently offering.
While there have always been the opinions that superhero movies aren't "real cinema," the MCU, in particular, has gained criticism as of late. After the release of Avengers: Endgame, a constant supply of shows and movies has been pouring out, causing many fans to believe Marvel favors quantity over quality. And while there are fair arguments to be made for and against the MCU, there's no denying that the concept of a cinematic universe has lost its charm. Yet that doesn't mean they'll always be the same as Marvel, as an MCU approach to The Lord of the Rings could actually benefit the story rather than ruin it.
The Lord of the Rings' Dense Lore Could Benefit From an MCU Approach
Despite the love for Peter Jackson's trilogy, there are many fans who are still disappointed by missing scenes and characters. And with the recent The Rings of Power, fans once again complain about the condensed timeline, with 500 years of lore having to be compressed into a single season of television. But this is all due to Tolkien's level of detail, as he wrote so much lore and created so many stories that fitting them all into a single movie or series will never work.
And so, if Middle-earth was tackled with a "Marvel approach," every scene and character could get the screen time they actually deserve. Multiple series focusing on different intertwined stories could be the only way to fully cover The Lord of the Rings, and fans could become even more attached to the world and characters over a longer period of time.
Of course, there's still the risk that a cinematic universe could overstep its boundaries. Netflix pitched entire series dedicated to characters like Gandalf and Aragorn, and there's only so much story to tell before the shows have to make up new plots for the sake of it. But if done right and treated with respect, The Lord of the Rings' epic journey from the Shire to Mordor could be fully documented with the amount of time and accuracy the novels deserve.