The rights to “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” have just been acquired by the colossal holding company Embracer Group, but the company is already talking about additional films starring Gandalf, Aragorn, Gollum and others.
Embracer stated in its acquisition announcement that, along with other upcoming Lord of the Rings projects such as Amazon’s Rings of Power and the Rohirrim War anime film, it is also looking to explore films related to some famous characters.
“Other possibilities include exploring additional films based on iconic characters such as Gandalf, Aragorn, Gollum, Galadriel, Eowyn and other characters from J.R. R. Tolkien’s literary works,” said Embraser. He will also “continue to provide fans with new opportunities to explore this fictional world through merchandising and other experiences.”
Embracer’s acquisition of Middle-earth Enterprises gives it worldwide rights to motion pictures, video games, board games, merchandising, theme parks and stage productions related to the literary works of J. R. R. Tolkien.
Most of the Lord of the Rings media that have been released over the past few decades eventually descended from these rights previously held by the Saul Zaentz Company through licensing deals that led to films such as Peter Jackson’s trilogies, various Lord of the Rings. video games and more.
Thus, although the company is the sole authority on potential films based on Gandalf, Aragorn and so on, the new projects are likely to be fresh versions that are not necessarily related to the characters or actors featured in the film trilogies. This is similar to the upcoming video game “The Lord of the Rings: Gollum”, which features a familiar character, but as a version based directly on the knowledge of the books, and not on the interpretation of the film.
Saul Zaentz announced its intentions to sell Middle-earth Enterprises earlier this year, with Amazon considered the leader at the time, given the imminent premiere of its Rings of Power series. Embracer has established itself as a publishing center, perhaps the most notable of which was the acquisition of three developers by Square Enix back in May.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer. He’ll be talking about the Witcher all day.
