How different were the Netflix and HBO takes? The Lord of the rings?
There is no doubt thatThe Lord of the rings is a power of an IP. Everyone wanted to get the rights to make a TV series or movie based on the works of JRR Tolkien after the success of Peter Jackson’s trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Netflix and HBO wanted to get the rights to make their versions of series or movies, and made proposals to the Tolkien estate.
HBO essentially released a new version of The Lord of the rings trilogy, which retells the Third Age of Middle-earth. Even though the Tolkien estate took issue with the Jackson adaptations, with the late Christopher Tolkien, the author’s son, saying they “gutted” his father’s books, the estate wasn’t interested in exploring the same story with a new director.
Netflix then released several shows based on the Third Age to the estate. Some of these stories included a Gandalf series and an Aragorn drama.
“They took the Marvel approach,” a source told the Hollywood Reporter, “and that completely scared the property.”
Even though he reportedly made a generous $250 million offer for the rights to the series, Netflix refused. The Lord of the rings.
Under the leadership of Albert Cheng, Sharon Tal Yguado and Dan Scharf, the Amazon team courted the heirs by promising a close relationship that would give them a creative seat at the table to protect Tolkien’s legacy. “It was our collective passion and allegiance to Tolkien that really won the day,” said Amazon Studios TV co-head Vernon Sanders.
The deal worked in favor of Amazon and Tolkien’s estate as Patrick McKay and JD Payne made several passionate pitches and wanted to take audiences and fans back to the lesser-known Second Age of Tolkien, which would tell the prehistory of The Lord of the rings trilogy and the rings that corrupt the soul.
Although response to the series has been mixed, with some enjoying the series and finding faithful telling of Tolkien’s high fantasy novels, and others feeling that the showrunners are dispassionate about the story and only in it for the money, McKay and Payne feel that they are doing their best to respect Tolkien and his work.
As fans of Jackson’s novels and trilogy, they say they are giving everything they have to their “dream project.”
Even if you’re not a fan of the rings of power, we’re glad you’re making high fantasy accessible to everyone. The series pays homage to Jackson’s visual language work while respecting Tolkien’s world-building.
When presenting your own projects, make sure you have a unique vision and a strong lookbook. You won’t always hit a home run, but do your best not to take the obvious route.
Do you think the series is missing something? Tell us in the comments!