Okay. Let’s talk about the thing that Tolkien fans all over the world have been discussing since last night: the possibility of a new The Lord of the Rings adaptation. Whether you’re excited or not, you can’t deny that this could be big news for the Tolkien community.
Image credit: New Line Cinema
Last night Variety reported that the Tolkien Estate and Warner Bros. Television are in talks with Amazon to create a new series for LOTR. I know, I know, this news seemed to come out of nowhere! I’ve always wondered when and if there would be a new adaptation but this is much sooner than I thought it would happen.
Seeing as Peter Jackson’s films are so close to many of us and that it’s one of the biggest movie series of all time, it’s no surprise that a lot of fans are against this adaptation happening. We’re so used to seeing Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Elijah Wood as Frodo, and Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, will it be easy for us to accept a new cast? Though I was too young to join in, I’m sure there were lots and lots of people expressing how skeptical they were of the idea of PJ adapting LOTR, but it’s been over a decade later and they’ve become so intertwined with the fandom! And we need to remember that nothing is set in stone yet.
“Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is said by sources with knowledge of the situation to be personally involved in the negotiations, which are still in very early stages. No deal has been set.”
Fans on social media have already taken to the idea that we might finally see Tom Bombadil if an adaptation were to actually happen. I admit that I’d love to finally “meet” Beregond, Glorfindel, Elladan and Elrohir but I’m probably getting ahead of myself. Many also expressed their want for a series focusing instead on Tolkien’s other works such as The Silmarillion or Unfinished Tales, but seeing as the Tolkien Estate hasn’t released the rights, I don’t think we’d be seeing adaptations for those any time soon.
I’m speaking only for myself here, but the idea of a new interpretation with new music, sets, cast, and costumes is kind of exciting. I love the LOTR cast, I was that person who would go on lordoftherings.net back in the day to hear each cast member welcome me to the site, but I’m not opposed to seeing new people play the characters. But as someone who has not watched any of Amazon’s original productions, I have no idea what to expect.
So, what are your thoughts?
6 Comments