Agreed. There is a strange narrative that everyone hated it… and I saw this phenomenon a lot on reddit on /r/television, whenever someone said they liked it, it’d get downvoted to oblivion.
I knew plenty of people who enjoyed it. I thought it was above average (I’m not going to say I loved it, but I did enjoy it).
I was also in that camp on that thread. Don’t confuse the loudness of those who disliked the show with consensus or even plurality.
I know Amazon did not have rights to *The Silmarillion” - does anyone?
Love it or hate it calling Rings of Power anything besides a massive hit is a lie.
Also agreed. I pity the show runners of any IP with a fandom as passionate as Tolkienites. Oftentimes a fandom will confuse themselves for the broader audience, and mistake their own displeasure for the general consensus.
It took a few episodes for me to put aside my expectations of how established characters such as Elrond, Ellendil, Isildur and especially Galadriel should be portrayed and the conflicts with Tolkien timelines, but once I did and accepted they are telling a different story, I quite enjoyed it and will watch more. The production values were outstanding and the plot lines of the new characters I enjoyed throughout.
My Wife and I were discussing Tim Benzadrine’s Old Lady just yesterday evening.
I was disappointed with rings of power, but also enjoyed it enough that i plan to watch the next season.
Er. That’s a bit picky.
This pretty much encapsulates my reaction and attitude to Rings of Power. Not so much that it fiddled with the timeline and things like that, but that the writing and acting completely wore out their welcome into my head by the fourth episode. I’m not denying that it was a hit, it doesn’t hurt my feelings if people liked it or loved it or just didn’t care. Just as I hope it doesn’t hurt their feelings if I don’t.
So far as I know, it’s still the Tolkien family. Who I imagine are now even less inclined than ever to sell the rights to anyone. They might eventually change their minds, but I suspect that that would take longer than it would to just wait for it to reach public domain by age.
As in remaking the trilogy? Was anyone asking for that?
No I think the implication is that they are not being remade.
I’m glad about that. They are as good as I could have ever imagined as a young boy reading Tolkien.
There has been additional info that it should be more works set in Middle Earth but not a remake of either Trilogy. I wonder if we’ll see an expanded Scouring of the Shire?
Maybe something like Fall of Gondolin or Beren and Luthien then. I could get behind that, albeit apprehensively.
The original acquisition news release:
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, and continue to provide new opportunities for fans to explore this fictive world through merchandising and other experiences.
Interesting that Saul “Zaentz Can’t Dance” Zaentz has owned the rights since 1976.
Exactly so. Tolkien, and The Lord of the Rings, undoubtedly have far higher name recognition, and at least a smattering of familiarity, among the general public than any of:
I kind of doubt they’d do anything that would contradict the Jackson films, although I could be wrong.
Could be something like that. But it could also be something set in Middle Earth, but not a direct adaptation of anything Tolkien had written. I would be quite happy to see them take that route if they could do it “right” (although it would be misleading to call them “Lord of the Rings” movies, as opposed to something like “Middle Earth movies”).
Almost undoubtedly not, unfortunately. It appears that the new films (like the Amazon series) will be using film rights for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. As far as I know, there have never been any deals made by the Tolkien estate for any sort of adaptation rights for The Silmarillion, and I doubt that there will be, so long as the estate is controlled by the family.
Even with The Rings of Power, which is set in the Second Age (a period, and events, which was covered in The Silmarillion), my understanding is that the adaptation rights precluded the producers and writers from using any content which solely appeared in The Silmarillion; they were limited to using references and information which appeared in The Lord of the Rings (particularly the appendices).
Everyone get ready for the wacky sitcom Young Strider. It’s basically Young Sheldon, with an 8-year-old precocious Aragorn (called “Estel” in the show) getting into trouble and learning life lessons in Rivendell.
Which is a damn shame, given the quality of those stories. A multi-season First Age series, beginning with Feanor and the creation of the Silmarils, running through Beren & Luthien, Children of Hurin, the Fall of Gondolin, finishing with Earendil and the choices of Elrond & Elrond Half-Elven would be majestic in scope and tie-in nicely to the mythology that’s already been produced.