The Revival of Lord Of The Rings
We might be entering a new age for Lord of the Rings and it could mean a new surge of storylines across all sorts of media. After the financially successful, but critically disappointing Hobbit trilogy, Tolkien’s estate has chosen a new candidate to carry on the Lord of the Rings legacy- titan of current media across all Amazon platforms, Jeff Bezos.
“We are delighted that Amazon, with its longstanding commitment to literature, is home of the first-ever multi-season television series for The Lord of the Rings,” Matt Glasor, a representative for the Tolkien Estate and Trust and HarperCollins.
Amazon has agreed to do five-seasons and will have to make good on that promise within the next two years, otherwise it will violate its contract with New Line, HarperCollins, and the Tolkien estate. Yet, this is one medium that LOTR has yet to breach and could become critical to the brand as a whole, especially since we are in a new golden age of TV, which has no signs of slowing down. There are other ways the world of LOTR could branch out into other audiences with this greater exposure.
What does this mean for the world that Tolkien spent so much of his life on? Considering it will be a prequel of The Hobbit films and intends to tell stories from that period and who knows where else, this could mean brand new storylines and ones that could go as far back as the Silmarillion, which is the prequel “world expanding” book to LOTR and The Hobbit.
If anything, this makes for some interesting and exciting possibilities not only for fans, but storytellers. Crafting new narratives out of an existing world allows for there to be new creations that go beyond making contributions to the movies and original books. This could mean the creation of companion novels (or comics), which many gaming companies and TV shows are using as additional storytelling mediums. Disney is doing quite well with its companion novels for Star Wars fans who don’t want to wait a whole year before being further immersed in the fictional world. A series of comics or even smaller novellas would be a great way to expand the LOTR universe farther, and still use the vast material that Tolkien left behind.
The TV show could open up some other possible gaming opportunities, too. The games Shadow of Mordor (2014) and Shadow of War (2017) received some positive press, but some critics have called them nothing more than “the bleakest Lord of the Rings fanfic I’ve ever seen” (Gizmodo). In some ways, the games are seen as more derivative than true additions to the franchise. Using LOTR as a setting is not enough- there is such a distinct feel to the world that Tolkien created that many felt it was missed. This type of mishap could become a stumbling block for the producers of the upcoming TV series.
The evolution of the show will be interesting, considering what roads it could take and how this promised five seasons will unpack not only more of Middle-Earth, but tell stories that none of us know- not even the hardcore fans who know how to speak Elvish. It is truly uncharted territory, and I for one, am excited to embark.
