The new Lord of the Rings films are in production from the same studio that created the landmark film trilogy that ran from 2001 to 2003. Behind these films, which took the world of Middle-earth by writer J.R.R. Tolkien into live-action, followed by a trilogy based on the prequel novel The Hobbit, directed in 2014 by returning director Peter Jackson. The franchise's latest on-screen appearance was Prime Video's hit series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which premiered in August 2022 with a second season set to air soon.
Today Warner Bros. Pictures announced that New Line Entertainment and Middle-earth Enterprises are collaborating on multiple feature films set in the Lord of the Rings universe. This multi-year agreement comes after New Line acquired Middle-earth Enterprises. These films, based on both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, will be new projects in addition to the anime film The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim, which New Line is also in production on.
What could these new Lord of the Rings movies be like?
So far, nothing has been announced about what kind of stories the new Middle-earth films will tell. While it's possible that these could be direct remakes of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King and The Hobbit, that seems unlikely. However, it's telling that they announced that the new projects would be based on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, rather than Tolkien's posthumously published The Silmarillion, which contained additional Middle-earth mythology.
Given the abundance of characters and locations featured in the Lord of the Rings books, the film has quite a few ways to go. Even if the new stories don't focus on iconic characters like Frodo, Aragorn, Gandalf or Legolas, there are plenty of other figures to focus on. These include side characters from the films, such as the Elven Lord Elrond (originally played by Hugo Weaving) or Eowyn, the niece of King Rohan (originally played by Miranda Otto).
However, the new Lord of the Rings may also feature characters from the books who were not featured in the original films. These include the infamous missing character Tom Bombadil, a powerful and mysterious creature who lives in the forest. Bombadil is an iconic figure who is not present in either the theatrical or extended versions of the original trilogy, and could be an interesting face to finally appear on screen.
Recommended: Hobbiton Village from 'Lord of the Rings' to be launched on Airbnb
