“Lord of the Rings” fans are less than thrilled about the Thursday announcement from Warner Bros. that indicates the company plans to make more films based on the franchise.
The decision comes less than a year after the big-budget Amazon TV series “The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power” was released to mixed reviews. The television project and all previous film adaptations are based on the epic high-fantasy book series by British author J.R.R. Tolkien.
Warner Bros. Pictures announced Thursday that they signed a multi-year agreement with Swedish media company Embracer Group to revisit Tolkien’s work. Director Peter Jackson was behind the “Lord of the Rings” film trilogy in the early 2000s and is apparently part of the new deal as well.
“Twenty years ago, New Line took an unprecedented leap of faith to realize the incredible stories, characters and world of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ on the big screen. The result was a landmark series of films that have been embraced by generations of fans,” Warner Bros. Pictures executives Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy said in a statement, according to Entertainment Weekly.
“But for all the scope and detail lovingly packed into the two trilogies, the vast, complex and dazzling universe dreamed up by J.R.R. Tolkien remains largely unexplored on film. The opportunity to invite fans deeper into the cinematic world of Middle-earth is an honor, and we are excited to partner with Middle-earth Enterprises and Embracer on this adventure.”
Social media fans were not happy to hear the announcement. The original trilogy is widely regarded as three of the greatest and most influential films ever made. All three movies were financially successful, raking in close to $3 billion worldwide and earning widespread acclaim from critics and audiences.
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“No. No no no no no. Stop wrecking things,” one reaction to the announcement said.
“Part of me feels like this incessant need to remake or reimagine movies we grew up loving is to intentionally demoralize us and taint the good memories we have of certain films,” another Twitter user agreed. “I have zero faith they won’t remake this in their woke image.”
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“The trilogy was perfect but of course they need to ruin it,” another person echoed.
It hasn’t been announced yet what Jackson’s role in the initiative will be, but the director shared in a statement that he’s excited about being involved. “Warner Bros. and Embracer have kept us in the loop every step of the way,” Jackson and his writing partners, Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyens, said in a joint statement, per EW.
“We look forward to speaking with them further to hear their vision for the franchise moving forward.”