Warner Bros. has announced new The Lord of the Rings movies from New Line Entertainment and Middle-earth Enterprises – and there are several stories from J.R.R. Tolkien’s works that they could be about. Currently, all that is known about these films is that there will be multiple full-feature installments that will cover aspects of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings the Peter Jackson films were unable to explore. Precisely what that entails remains to be seen.
Of course, this means that Tolkien’s posthumous publications, such as The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, will not be used as inspiration for Warner Bros.’ new Lord of the Rings movies. This largely excludes the events of Middle-earth’s First and Second Ages, with some exceptions. Overall, it can be concluded that the bulk of what the new Lord of the Rings movies cover will take place in the Third Age. This could be anything from a more in-depth remake of The Hobbit and LOTR to the origin stories of Middle-earth’s villains, but some options are more likely than others.RELATED: What Happened To Sam Gamgee After Lord Of The Rings
7 Full Lord of The Rings & The Hobbit Remakes (Chronological)
Overall, Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy was a booming success, and even the less celebrated The Hobbit movies still performed at the box office. Nevertheless, both adaptations left or altered a great deal from Tolkien’s original books, so it could be possible that New Line Entertainment hopes to now tell the whole tale of the Hobbits and the One Ring from beginning to end. This version could involve previously cut characters like Tom Bombadil and Glorfindel, or tell the story of The Hobbit without as many unnecessary additions.
Given the status of Peter Jackson’s films as classics, it is hard to imagine that Warner Bros. would want to dive into a new adaptation so soon. It has been 20 years since The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King concluded the original film trilogy and nearly a decade since The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies did the same for the prequels. Perhaps in another 10 or 20 years, it will be time to recast and retell the beloved story, but the risk of damaging the films’ legacy is still too high in the 2020s.
6 The Hobbit & Lord Of The Rings From Gandalf’s Perspective
Gandalf is one of the most iconic characters of The Lord of the Rings, and Ian McKellen’s outstanding performance in the Peter Jackson films only adds to this. Still, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings only brushed the surface of who Gandalf was in the Tolkien books. His origin, overall purpose, and the nuances of his role in Sauron’s war went entirely unexplored, which leaves grand possibilities for future adaptations. If Warner Bros.’ new movies focus on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings from Gandalf’s perspective, including his arrival and departure from Middle-earth, it could be an easy hit.
The Amazon Prime Video series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has hinted that one of its characters, the Stranger, is Gandalf immediately after he arrives in Middle-earth. If this is true, it would be a rather significant divergence from Tolkien canon since Gandalf and the other Istari were not supposed to arrive until the start of the Third Age. The new Warner Bros Lord of the Rings films could set this record straight, but running two versions of Gandalf’s story simultaneously could result in the movie and TV show cannibalizing each other, which could be bad news for the Middle-earth cinematic universe.
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5 The Rise Of LOTR’s Witch-king Of Angmar
The Witch-king of Angmar was the leader of the Nazgûl, or Ringwraiths, and the right-hand man of Sauron through much of the Second and Third Ages of Middle-earth. The Lord of the Rings confirmed that he met his end at the Battle of Pelennor Fields at the hand of Lady Éowyn. However, there is much more to his story. Of course, the Witch-king’s tale started long before the events of The Hobbit, but since his story was discussed in depth in The Lord of the Rings, including the appendices, New Line and Middle-earth Enterprises may have the rights to his story.
The tale of the Witch-king of Angmar is dark, gritty, and tragic, since he had initially started out as a human king before being corrupted by the gift of Sauron’s Rings of Power. It could be fun to watch the Númenórean slowly give into the darkness and lead the hunt of the Dúnedain. However, this story may again fall into The Rings of Power‘s territory. Sauron has already been revealed in The Rings of Power season 1, and it will likely not be long before he creates and distributes the Nine to the Kings of Men. Therefore, a Witch-king focus seems less likely in the new LOTR movies.
4 The Istari’s Arrival And Work In Middle-Earth Throughout LOTR
Lord of the Rings introduced two of Middle-earth’s Istari in Peter Jackson’s original film trilogy – Gandalf and Saruman – and a third in The Hobbit with Radagast. However, much like Gandalf’s entire story was never explored, the relationship between these three and how they came to be in the Tolkien creation of Middle-earth was left out. In truth, these wizards are Maiar, demigod-like beings from Valinor, who can change shape and potentially cause all kinds of trouble. They were sent to Middle-earth to aid in the fight against Sauron, who had also been a Maia once.
A movie based on the Istari could potentially start all the way back in Valinor, long before they ever started on their journey. This could set this film series apart from the plot of The Rings of Power, since it would center mainly on the relationships between these wizards, especially of Gandalf and Saruman. The knowledge that the white wizard is doomed to become the fallen “wizard of many colors” would make this all the more intriguing. Still, this plot falls into questionable territory, since it is unclear if it would be included in the rights held by New Line and Middle-earth Enterprises.
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3 Tom Bombadil’s Lord Of The Rings Origin & Story
Although Tom Bombadil in Lord of the Rings is one of the most mysterious beings that resides in Middle-earth, he was left out of the Peter Jackson movies entirely. In the books, Frodo and his friends ran into Bombadil fairly early in their journey, and learned that he was as old as the world itself. Sauron’s One Ring had no influence over him, and he seemed to possess great power. Readers of The Lord of the Rings have hypothesized for years that Bombadil is Eru Ilúvatar, the world’s creator, reincarnated – something that Tolkien vehemently denied. Curiously, the author claimed ignorance himself as to who Bombadil actually was.
The mystery surrounding Tom Bombadil seems to make him an excellent candidate for further exploration in the new Lord of the Rings movies from Warner Bros. Unfortunately, this may be the very reason that it should be avoided. Since Tolkien himself never confirmed the character’s identity, any adaptation would need to rely on the creativity of its screenwriters. This has been an unpopular move for previous Lord of the Rings adaptations, as seen in The Rings of Power. Therefore, it may be that Tom Bombadil needs to remain a mystery.
2 Gollum’s Full The Hobbit & Lord Of The Rings Story
Gollum, or Smeagol as he had been known before the One Ring corrupted his soul, is another character with a much broader story than the Lord of the Rings movies had time to explore. Though The Return of the King briefly showed how Smeagol found the Ring and murdered his friend to take ownership of it, Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring book went into far greater detail. Additionally, Gollum is one of the few characters with a prevalent part to play in both the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogies, so it seems he has much to offer in new adaptations.
A movie series about Gollum’s full story could also be the easiest for Warner Bros. and New Line Entertainment to adapt, since actor Andy Serkis has only become more popular since his initial role as the wretched creature in The Lord of the Rings. This, combined with the ever-improving motion capture technology – as proven by Avatar: The Way of Water – makes a movie series focused on Gollum seem all the more likely. Moreover, it is already clear that the character falls into the Tolkien rights that Warner Bros. has obtained, so legality would not be an issue.
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1 Aragorn’s Childhood & Adventures As A Ranger Before LOTR
As the prophesied King of Gondor in The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn was one of the movie trilogy’s most important characters. Still, Peter Jackson made sizable changes to his personality and motivations to better fit within the films, which provides an opportunity for Warner Bros. to adapt his full story in a new film series. This could start way back in Aragorn’s childhood when he was taken to Rivendell to be kept safe, and was eventually told by Elrond, who essentially adopted him, that he was the heir to the throne of Gondor.
A film series could follow Aragorn through his travels as a Dúnedain ranger, his first meeting with Gandalf, his magical healing abilities, and his full love story with Arwen. Focusing on the future king’s younger years would also mean he could be recast without much backlash. Aragorn actor Viggo Mortensen, who remains deeply rooted to Jackson’s original Lord of the Rings movie series, could then return in later installments of Warner Bros.’ new Lord of the Rings movies to portray King Elessar in the years audiences never got to see on screen.
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