lord of the rings tv show

A ‘Lord Of The Rings’ TV Series Is Actually Happening & The Fellowship Is Shook

Tell us you love Punkee without telling us you love Punkee. Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter. It'll mean the world.

Drag out the rusty golden ring you’ve had stowed away ever since you dressed as Gollum for Return of the King premiere (just me?). J.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic Lord of the Rings books are being made into a television series and let us rejoice to Gandalf the Grey.

Variety has reported that the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien and Warner Bros. Television are in discussions with Amazon Studios to adapt a series from the classic fantasy novels. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is personally involved in the negotiations.

While it’s generally uncommon for Bezos to be involved with dealmaking at Amazon Studios, he’s apparently a big fan of high fantasy and science fiction. Case in point, here he is dressed as an alien from Star Trek.

There’s no word yet on what form the TV series will take, such as a straight reboot of the immensely popular, Academy Award-winning film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, or something based on the rich source material that Tolkien wrote about the world around the novels.

Perhaps the series will be more akin to the popular video game franchise Middle-earth: Shadows of Mordor, which is set in Tolkien’s world-building legendarium, and narratively sits between the events of The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring.

“The Lord of the Rings is a cultural phenomenon that has captured the imagination of generations of fans through literature and the big screen,” said Sharon Tal Yguado, head of scripted series for Amazon Studios.

“We are honoured to be working with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line on this exciting collaboration for television and are thrilled to be taking The Lord of the Rings fans on a new epic journey in Middle Earth.”

Warner Bros. Television Studio and the Tolkien estate have been shopping around the potential LOTR series following the settlement of a massive lawsuit that’s been dragging on since 2012. The dispute pitted the estate and publisher HarperCollins on one side, against Warner Bros. on the other, over the use of characters from the movies in video games.

The news of the TV adaptation has divided fans.

Still, considering we’re in a golden era of genre television, with shows like Game of Thrones and Stranger Things drawing in massive viewership, sure the rewards outweigh the risk?

–

story via Junkee