Swedish video game and media holding company Embracer Group may have just acquired the rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, but it already has plans on how to expand the fantasy world. While not set in stone, the next course of action seems to involve producing spin-off films starring Gandalf, Aragorn, Gollum, and more.
In its acquisition announcement, the company expressed its intention to explore potential spin-off movies focusing on some the more popular characters. “Other opportunities include exploring additional movies based on iconic characters such as Gandalf, Aragorn, Gollum, Galadriel, Eowyn, and other characters from the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien,” reads the post.
Now that Embracer has sealed the deal with Middle-earth Enterprises, it’s been granted full ownership of the worldwide rights to motion pictures, video games, board games, merchandising, theme parks, and stage productions relating to the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Some upcoming projects include Amazon’s The Rings of Power, The War of the Rohirrim anime film, and an untitled video game from Weta Workshop. Who knows, we might even get a Legolas spin-off someday.
Considering the rich lore and well-crafted worldbuilding of the Lord of the Rings novels, it’ll be interesting to see how the creative interpretations and characterisations will carry over to a different medium — if the projects are a go, that is. Lord of the Rings: Gollum is going down a similar path on the video game front, as it bases the familiar character on its literary counterpart, and not on the movie version. Originally planned for release on 1 September, the title is now delayed by a few months.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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