Original Lord of the Rings films?

[Kelthaz]

I watched a trailer for The Hobbit when I saw Dredd today and it made me a little sad to realize that this wonderful, rich universe is soon coming to an end. Two more films and then never again will we see a hobbit. Well, why? Why does it have to end here?

So I've been thinking. What about continuing the franchise with completely original films set in the LOTR universe? We could have a film that chronicles the adventures of King Aragorn as he seeks to repair a broken and hostile land after the destruction wrought by Sauron or another trilogy following the adventures of Tyrande the elf as she finds herself in the middle of an Elvish civil war. Who the hell is Tyrande? Exactly.

I imagine that this won't be a very popular idea, but I think it would be fantastic. We have the books for the original, unaltered storyline whenever we want, so why not let the adaptation, well, adapt it?

 

[NCC1701MF]

You may want to check out some fan made films.
Here are links to 2 of them
http://www.thehuntforgollum.com/
and
http://www.bornofhope.com/

 

[Kegg]

Who the hell is Tyrande?

Glad you asked. And there's actually a decent chance of that Tyrande appearing on the silver screen, since they're making a Warcraft movie.

I don't know. Sure, I love the LOTR films and I am eagerly awaiting the first Hobbit film. And I could see a good argument for a film about Beren and Luthien or in the unlikely event the rights were got for the Silmarillion or Children of Hurin, however unlikely that is or whatever issues there would be in adaption.

But at a certain point past that.. well, what is the point? When we start talking about Tyrande the elf, then we may as well just start talking about one of the nine billion franchises in literature and gaming that have taken extensive 'inspiration' from Tolkein's opus and give them films too (like, again, the Warcraft movie. Or that Shannara TV series. Or whatever.) It has all the benefits of 'more stories about elves and dwarves!' without any issues as to whether or not these additional stories seem redundant with regards to LOTR.

 

[Klaus]

I'd concur - there are some parts of Silmarillion you could use as standalone stories -- B&L are an obvious choice but Túrin might work too - or even Fëanor. No need to come up with totally new things and set it in some corner of Middle-Earth.

Aragorn's time in Gondor and Rohan is a possibility, and maybe even the War of the Dwarves and the Orcs.

 

[Gaith]

Ahem.

​

 

[Allyn Gibson]

So I've been thinking. What about continuing the franchise with completely original films set in the LOTR universe?

I would actually be interested in that. I'm not sure if New Line's deal with Tolkien Enterprises would allow them to do that, however.

What would really interest me would be something that started from the two chapters Tolkien wrote of "The New Shadow," his unfinished sequel to The Lord of the Rings. However, a CJRT who isn't willing to sell the movie rights to The Silmarillion probably isn't going to sell the movie rights to "The New Shadow."

Almost as interesting would be if New Line picked up the rights for an adaptation of Nick Perumov's Ring of Darkness trilogy, an unauthorized Russian sequel to The Lord of the Rings. Uniquely among the Russian expansions of Middle-Earth, Perumov's work isn't revisionist (from what I understand). It would certainly pose an interesting legal question -- if you have the rights of adaptation to The Lord of the Rings, would those rights extend to cover an unauthorized sequel? In other words, would Tolkien Enterprises' legal rights to LOTR adaptations protect New Line from a legal challenge by the Tolkien estate over the unauthorized sequel? It's an interesting question.

 

[sojourner]

Tolkien did attempt a sequel book at one point, but abandoned it as basically being "too mundane" with the race of man being ascendant in the fourth age. The plot was something about men fighting witches if I recall.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Lord Of The Rings: The Phantom Menace.

What could possibly go wrong?

 

[sojourner]

Better than Lord of the Rings 2: Electric Boogaloo!

 

[Klaus]

Or Lord of the Rings: The Next Generation...

 

[Skywalker]

I'd still love to see a movie about Aragorn in his youth. Learning of his heritage, meeting Arwen for the first time, serving King Thengel of Rohan and Steward Ecthelion of Gondor, battling the Corsairs of Umbar, and hunting down Gollum after he escaped from Mordor and taking him to the Elves in Mirkwood. That could be fun.

 

[JD]

I could see that working. It would give us a more direct connection the LOTR movies than some of the other stuff mentioned in the thread, which would be a big plus when it comes to attracting an audience.

 

[Skywalker]

Agreed. I think the biggest issue with the idea right now (at least with the way I described it) is it seems more like a series of episodes instead of a cohesive narrative. But I'm sure any professional screenwriter worth his or her salt could come up with something to tie it all together.

 

[Kelthaz]

Or Lord of the Rings: The Next Generation...

An unwelcome continuation of the original canon that resulted in two of the greatest science fiction shows ever made (and one decent show) and a rich 24th century Star Trek universe? I'm willing to risk a Phantom Menace if it means we may get a TNG.

I understand that this idea seems like a series of episodes, but doesn't The Hobbit have the same feel? It's an unnecessary prequel starring a minor character that never would have been deemed important enough for a film (let alone three!) if The Hobbit wasn't already a novel. But despite that, the films are most likely going to be fantastic and rake in billions at the box office.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

...if The Hobbit wasn't already a novel.

Oh, you're really cheating the argument by slipping that little caveat in there.

We were reading The Hobbit when I was in grade school, before LOTR took my generation by storm (there was no authorized inexpensive edition of the trilogy widely available in this country in those days that I know of). The book would probably have been made and remade as movies by this time, if LOTR hadn't followed it.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

Ahem.

​

I would love it, but the scale is so different. It truly builds up to a great finish with The High King and the Black Cauldron is great, but some of the stories are relatively small in scale, especially The Book of Three.

 

[inflatabledalek]

Well, in order to drag out The Hobbit to three full length films they're going to have be be adding lots, and lots, and lots of new stuff. Whether it's been created especially for the films or taken from Tolkein Jr's Hey Look, I Found Some More Scribbles My Dad Wrote And Probably Never Wanted Anyone To See Considering He Thought Them Crap Enough Not To Continue Them Past The Second Sentence But I Have A Cash Cow To Milk tones I haven't been following closely enough to say for sure, but either way, there's a hell of a lot more than the book to enjoy in there.

To be honest, I'd much rather they'd have done one good Hobbit film (which wouldn't actually need to be more than two hours long) and then two full on LOTR sequels with all the stuff people expect. The problem with trying to turn The Hobbit into the big EPIC film franchise is it's actually a deeply silly, fun kids book at heart.

 

[Greg Cox]

Am I the only one who saw the thread title and assumed it was about the original animated versions?

Different kind of "original," I guess.

 

[Set Harth]

Am I the only one who saw the thread title and assumed it was about the original animated versions?

No.

Tolkein Jr's Hey Look, I Found Some More Scribbles My Dad Wrote And Probably Never Wanted Anyone To See Considering He Thought Them Crap Enough Not To Continue Them Past The Second Sentence But I Have A Cash Cow To Milk tones

 

[Captaindemotion]

Am I the only one who saw the thread title and assumed it was about the original animated versions?

Different kind of "original," I guess.

No.

As to the original question, I'm also in the 'leave-well-enough- camp. We got three brilliant films, quite possibly the strongest and most consistently good film trilogy that's been made (maybe Bourne could rival it). And now hopefully we'll get a Hobbit trilogy that is of the same or similar quality.

But I can't see how standalone adventures in Middle Earth could hope to keep to that standard and I think that they will inevitably disappoint. I'm not just thinking of the Star Wars prequels but things like the Babylon Five spin-offs. LOTR and The Hobbit are contained stories which have a beginning, middle and end. For all that Tolkien wrote about Middle Earth - and let's remember that it was his baby and he's dead now - I don't necessarily think that we need to have countless stories told about that domain.