Lord Of The Rings Battle: Warner and Amazon Fighting For Tolkien Franchise

Warner and Amazon are in a Lord Of The Rings battle to control Tolkien productions. Productions such as The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit were very successful, and both companies have the rights to produce them. However, Amazon has greater privileges at this point.

Many would think both companies would seek to ally and develop plots with more impact, but the reality is different. Both are in a Lord Of The Rings battle to determine who will get the most out of the stories Tolkien tells.

On the one hand, we have the strong setback Amazon suffered with the first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The production received negative reviews, pushing the showrunners away and even rethinking the project. This saga got bad reviews and overshadowed by Warner and HBO’s new series, House of the Dragon, a prequel to the Games of Thrones franchise. 

Lord Of The Rings Battle: Warner and Amazon Fighting for Tolkien Franchise

(Image: Amazon Prime Studios)

Amazon started badly with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series. The series had strong reviews from audiences and critics. This situation forced the studio to think of new plots for a second season, trying to reverse the situation. On the other hand, we have that Warner eclipsed any possible success with House of the Dragon.

The Game of Thrones spinoff was a resounding success, being one of the most-watched series worldwide. The problem is that this saga was released on a date quite close to Amazon’s Lord of the Rings. This fact bothered the company a lot, since it considered that Warner would also seek the success of that production, considering that it is also a shareholder of the franchise.

The House of the Dragon story, on the other hand, has quite a marked success, reaching more than 29 million users, only in the United States. It was a wise move for Warner at this point, which now seeks to compete directly with its rival. This Lord Of The Rings battle will involve a dispute over the Tolkien Franchise.

For this, Warner Bros. will look to the first film’s director, Peter Jackson, who won 17 Oscars. He will have the help of several screenwriting partners, such as Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. However, they commented that there is a rivalry between the two companies in the same saga. They also said in an interview that they never received the production script in the productions they developed with Amazon.

Warner Bros. Seeks to Develop a Hit Amid Despair

Image via New Line Cinema

An undeniable reality is that Warner is looking for blockbuster productions that will back it in green numbers. The studio reported significant losses amounting to $2.1 billion last quarter. This resulted from problems in its productions, both in DC and in the TV series and programs acquired for its streaming platforms.

Now they will be enlisting the help of Jackson and his team of screenwriters to develop a new Lord of the Rings arc. The problem is that it shows a desperation to conjure up a family-type production, leading the company back to past greatness. Maybe a production of the Tolkien franchise is a solution, although he didn’t pay much attention to it in the past, making things difficult for him.

Warner lost much of the rights in a lawsuit with Saul Zaentz Company. The latter initiated the legal process, as Warner did not comply with the agreement that it would keep the franchise alive with quality productions. Although this studio created the animated film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, for Zaentz, this was not even enough.

A Very Small Middle-Earth for Warner and Amazon

Image via New Line Cinema.

The land created by Tolkien is too small for these two studios to make their productions. Although both have different rights, there will be a Lord Of The Rings battle to develop them.

On the one hand, Amazon presents the problem that they have the rights to the second age of Tolkien’s stories. These are little known, so they generate less attention from franchise fans. As for Warner has the third and must adapt to the plots of films that were developed based on this plot.

This struggle, both between studios and with the various complications of Tolkien’s plots, may leave both with small results rather than the successes they desire. 

Featured Image Via New Line Cinema