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'Gandalf Disapproves': Fans distressed as new 'Lord of the Rings' movies being developed at Warner Bros

After a long wait of 19 years, Warner Bros has finally announced that they will expand 'Lord of the Rings' franchise for the big screen

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: In 2001, Peter Jackson and Warner Bros. took the world by storm with ‘The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring’ and started one of the most-acclaimed trilogies of all time. The franchise went on to become a massive box-office success and received numerous laurels. The Middle Earth saga continued with ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy and once again, earned positive reviews. But it seems WB is set to take the viewers on another ‘Middle Earth’ adventure and work on new ‘LOTR’ movies

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According to a new report by Variety, the newly introduced studio leaders Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca have finalized the deal to make a series of films focusing on Tolkien’s fictional world of Middle Earth. As of now, no filmmaker is attached to helm the project, and will be developed with the help of New Line Cinema, a subsidiary of WB.

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The original trilogy was directed by Peter Jackson and his vision, along with epic storytelling made the franchise such a massive success. So, it doesn’t come as a shock that Jackson and the other pivotal members of the original trilogy are being consulted for the new and upcoming line of movies. In a statement released by Jackson, the Oscar-winning director noted that WB has been in touch with him regarding the movies, but didn’t confirm his involvement in the filmmaking process.

“We look forward to speaking with them further to hear their vision for the franchise moving forward,” Jackson said, along with partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.

Social media was not thrilled with the news of new ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies and wanted WB not to move ahead with them because the original trilogy was a masterpiece. One of the fans wrote, “Why though? We already have the best film trilogy.” Another social media user tweeted, “Gandalf disapproves.” Another fan wrote, “No, the 3rd one should stay the last one I don't want them to run it we don’t need another one.” Another social media user tweeted, “So Hollywood has run out of ideas.” Another fan noted, “Please don't ruin it like Disney did to Star Wars.” Another social media user wrote, “Why? Why not something original or something? I mean I love Lord of the Rings and I'm gonna watch it if it's good, but something new now and then would be nice.”

The original ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy began in 2001 with ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’. Peter Jackson came out with two more movies in the form of ‘The Two Towers’ and ‘Return of the King’.

‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ went on to earn more than $897.7 million globally on a production budget of just $93 million. Meanwhile, ‘The Two Towers’ broke the first film record and earned over $947 million worldwide. The third and last movie, ‘The Return of the King’, was the most successful of the lot and became the first movie in the franchise to earn more than $1 billion globally.  As a whole, the trilogy made over $2.991 billion at the worldwide box office on a production budget of $281 million.

All three films in the franchise were nominated for numerous Academy Awards. ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ was nominated for 13 Oscars and won 4 trophies that year. On the other hand, ‘The Two Towers’ managed to secure 2 Oscars in 2003. However, ‘The Return of the King’ would turn out to break numerous records and win 11 Oscars in one night. The movie won trophies in categories such as Best Picture, Best Director (Jackson), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Makeup, Best Costume Design, Film Editing, Original Score, Original Song, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects.

It is only the third film in the history of the Academy Awards to win 11 awards in a single night. The other two films on the list are ‘Ben-Hur’ (1959) and ‘Titanic’ (1997). However, it’s the only film in the history of the Oscars to win in every nominated category.

‘LOTR’ was revived for the small screen by Amazon last year with ‘The Rings of Power’, but focused on the second age of Middle Earth. It has been well-received by the critics as well as audiences and will be returning for Season 2.

We hope the new additions to the Middle Earth saga are as riveting as the original.