Screen Rant: HBO Passed Up the Chance to Create the New LOTR TV Series

Screen Rant just broke the news that HBO passed on the new Lord of the Rings TV series. The article explains that the entertainment company prefers to produce content for licenses that they own completely––so not surprisingly the complicated licensing and rights situation of Lord of the Rings (involving Warner Bros, New Line Cinema, the Tolkien Estate, and sometimes Middle-earth Enterprises) was not appealing to HBO. I've got to say I'm glad that HBO passed on Lord of the Rings. As well made as Game of Thrones is, I would hate to see Lord of the Rings tarnished with gratuitous violence and sex. Of course, there is still the possibility that Amazon will go that route . . . I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed, I suppose. Thanks to the Secret Fire Podcast for putting this info up on Twitter.

UPDATE: Here's an additional article by Den of Geek that basically covers the same news.

Later.

Collectibles: Funko Pop Lord of the Rings

Funko has announced the second wave of Lord of the Rings Pop! figures and new Lord of the Rings Mystery Minis. They look fantastic, and I'm especially excited for the Mystery Minis. It looks like the  Mystery Minis will be released in January and the Pop! figures in February. Some of the figures will be exclusives to certain retailers. Jump past the break to see more images!

The Lord of the Rings Appendices: A Primer

With the film and TV rights to the Silmarillion still officially off-limits (at least as far as we know), Amazon studios and Warner Bros. have two choices for developing a new Middle-earth story: first, they could create original stories, or second, they can expand on material found in the appendices at the end of The Return of the King. I think the second option is by far the most likely, since mining the appendices for stories will simultaneously appeal to long-time Tolkien fans and save time and money compared to developing new stories from scratch. Die-hard fans of Lord of the Rings are no doubt familiar with the material in the Appendices, but newer fans (especially those that were introduced to the stories through the movies) might not be as familiar with the stories and histories JRR Tolkien included in at the end of the trilogy. Because of this, I thought it would be a good time to review the stories in the Appendices in a series of blog posts, and talk about how Amazon Studies might adapt the tales for their TV series. Jump past the break to read the first post in this series, which will review the history behind the Appendices and give a brief overview of their contents.

New Amazon Lord of the Rings TV Series to be filmed in 2019, air in 2020

The German IGN.com and TheOneRing.Net are reporting that Amazon will being filming of the new LOTR TV series in 2019, aiming for a release of the series in 2020. If true, this timetable puts the new LOTR series on track to premier following the end of the final season of Game of Thrones.

Side note: I haven't spent much time on the German IGN.com website (mainly due to the fact that I don't speak German), but a brief scroll-through of the site revealed a couple of fascinating articles that I hadn't seen reported anywhere else (for example, read about John Rhys-Davies and Sean Austin's reactions to the news that Amazon will produce a new LOTR TV series, and read the German IGN.com's suggestions for how to make a TV series that will be distinct from the LOTR films).

Later . . .

Review: A Bestiary of Tolkien - A Coloring Book

One of the things I'd like to do on this blog is review Lord of the Rings and Hobbit collectibles, books, films, and games. So hopefully this will be the first of many reviews. I picked up A Bestiary of Tolkien - A Coloring Book about a year ago, but for a long time it sat on my shelf, waiting for me to get some free time to crack it open and start coloring. Fair warning: I am by no means a coloring book aficionado, so I'll be approaching this review as a Tolkien fan first and foremost. Jump past the break to read on.

Remember the very first preview of the Lord of the Rings films?

TheOneRing.Net just shared this video on twitter, and I just had to put it up over here. I've actually been looking for this little teaser for a long time, since it's the first preview I ever saw for the Lord of the Rings Films . . . ah memories. Enjoy!

Christopher Tolkien has resigned as director of the Tolkien Estate

This week just keeps delivering Middle-earth surprises. TheOneRing.Net is now reporting that Christopher Tolkien stepped down as director of the Tolkien Estate in late August of this year. For over five decades Mr. Tolkien has acted as the curator and guardian of his father's literary legacy, and I can't overstate the debt of gratitude that all Tolkien fans owe to him. Jump past the break for my thoughts on what this means for the future of J.R.R. Tolkien's books, as well as future movies, games, and TV shows (including the new Amazon series).

Peter Jackson has yet to be contacted by Amazon about the new Lord of the Rings TV Series

Contrary to my speculations yesterday, Deadline and TheOneRing.Net are reporting that Peter Jackson has yet to be contacted by Amazon. What could this mean? Well . . . call my cynical, but I find it very hard to believe that Jackson won't be involved in some capacity. The Deadline article does a very good job detailing the numerous reasons why it would make sense for Amazon to at least chat with Jackson and his veteran Kiwi crew.

Amazon is Producing a New Lord of the Rings Show

It's official folks . . . and much sooner than I expected. Amazon is producing a Lord of the Rings television show in cooperation with everyone and the kitchen sink (I'm serious, it's a long list: Warner Bros. Entertainment, New Line Cinema, HarperCollins, Middle-Earth Enterprises, and The Tolkien Estate and Trust. Jump past the break to get the full story, and my initial thoughts on this exciting development.

The Road Goes Ever On And On

Hello fellow Tolkien fans, and welcome to Middle-earth Dispatches! This is a blog dedicated to discussing all things Middle-earth and to delving deeper into the incredible world and mythology created by J.R.R. Tolkien and now given extended life by films, games, toys, and millions of fans. I am a life-long fan of Tolkien's work, and really, this blog is my attempt to create the kind of Middle-earth content I'm always trying to fine more of online. I have big plans for this site, but it is definitely a work in progress, so please bear with me as I slowly start to crank out essays, reviews, Q&A's, and even a piece of short fiction here and there.

This isn't my first Tolkien-related blog. Following the announcement that the Hobbit movies were going to become a reality, I created a Hobbit news and discussion blog called In a Hole in the Ground. It hasn't received much attention from me since The Battle of the Five Armies was released (though you should of course feel free to check it out), but I had a blast writing and talking about Middle-earth for three years, and I'm excited to take everything I learned about creating and maintaining a website and applying it to this new endeavor.

So what do I envision for this new blog? First, I see it as a one-stop-shop for any and all Middle-earth related news, whether it's about Tolkien's books; the LOTR and Hobbit films; old, current, or up-coming games; and toys and collectibles. Second, I want to create a site that contains links to all of the interesting Middle-earth content I stumble across online––you'd be amazed at the fascinating Tolkien stuff floating around on the web, and I want to make a convenient link library so that anyone can access it all. Finally, and most importantly, I want to produce a series of short essays that answer questions I or others have about Tolkien's vast mythology.

So welcome to Middle-earth Dispatches. I'm excited to get started, and I hope you'll keep coming back to get your weekly (or daily if you want) Tolkien fix.

Later.