Amazon goes insane: LOTR prequel series incoming

[Evie]

Tolkien meant to create a new mythology.

A fundamental aspects of mythology is that it grows with new tellings, and new tellers. Not all of the additions are good, some are downright bad, some strike a different done. But they add to a greater whole, to a true mythology. Something Tolkien, who was quite versed in storytelling and the nature of stories themselves, would likely have understood quite well.

I don't think freezing Middle Earth in the perceived perfection of Tolkien's tales is true to Tolkien's legacy.

 

[Takhisis]

I completely get that, but, say, the Cthulhu Mythos for one had many people writing while Lovecraft was still alive. This… well, it doesn't feel the same way. Especially with Jeff Bezos at the helm. If it's done with the Amazon approach then they'll set out to Disneyfy the story and milk it for all it's worth.

 

[Evie]

Well, that was going to happen eventually. Despite Disney's best effort (which they seem to have slacked off on for that matter - was just reading an article yesterday pointing out how they're far less likely to get another copyright extension), the public domain is still a thing, and public domain inclusion is creeping up on Tolkien's world.

Creeping rather quickly, in fact - in some first world nations (and China, and most of the not-first-world), it's still lifetime+50. And while not all those first world nations are worrisome (I mean, okay, Canada might actually get third party Middle Earth work on the shelves, who cares*), the fact that Japan is Lifetime+50 too is rather more significant. And lifetime+50 puts the deadline in 2023.

Seems like the calculation may well have been "We can either work with amazon or something to make "official" extra material that we recognize and approve, and thus weaken the legitimacy of all those unauthorized works by establishing a *real* "growing canon". Or we can wait a few years and watch the flood of Wuxai Middle Earth and Yubiwa Monogatari anime that we will have absolutely no control over and just let them get all the attention."

(Very amusingly, Japan, Canada and a number of others *would* be going up to Lifetime+70 before Tolkien's works hit public domain...except that the treaty that forced them to was the Trans-Pacific Partnership, 2016 edition. The ratification of which became effectively impossible when a certain stable genius withdrew his country (which was also the main advocate for going up to lifetime+70) from the aforesaid TPP. So in an indirect way, it's very possible that you can thank (if you like the idea) or blame (if you don't) Trump for this one. )

*I care, obviously. I mean, getting to write perfectly legal Middle Earth stories? Yes please!

 

[Takhisis]

So Disney will get to make a family-friendly version of The Catcher in the Rye with the setting updated to a Korean-Russian village in post-Soviet Central Asia after all.

 

[Evie]

Well, Disney is a US company, and Salinger died in 2010, not in 1973, so, you know, yes, they will - sometime around the end of the century. Not sure post-Soviet Central Asia will make much sense as the setting.

(really should be earlier. Copyright laws in the US are obscene. A growing public domain is a healthy and necessary part of culture. All-controlling estates that keep a death grip on this or that creator's work for decades and decade are a plague on creativity and artistic creation.

 

[Takhisis]

Not sure post-Soviet Central Asia will make much sense as the setting.

It's Disney.

 

[Evie]

Well, the point was more that who knows what the world will be like in 2080 or so. I dunno, Norway might be the go-to place for that kind of story by then

 

[Smellincoffee]

Is there a part of New Zealand we haven't seen yet?

 

[Takhisis]

You haven't seen what they do in the shadows.

 

[Lord Malbeth]

While I support your endeavours to keep scenarios and also to keep LotR lore integrated into the game, I cannot agree with a TV show being made to butcher Tolkien's legacy.

Isn't the show being made with the assistance of the Tolkien estate/whoever controls the legendarium? Or am I making up a story here.

 

[caketastydelish]

I have a random question that I think doesn't warrant an entire thread but can't find an appropriate thread to ask so this seems like the best place:

Were the Elves leaving for the Grey Havens in any way a reference to real people going somewhere? Such as the Vikings going to Greenland or Canada or something?

 

[Ozbenno]

I've read somewhere that Tolkien based elves on the elves of Norse Mythology and that the Valar were based on the Norse gods. In that case the elves leaving for the Grey Havens would be them going to Valhalla I guess.

 

[caketastydelish]

That's stupid and boring. I wanted it to be based on a real place! But thanks for telling the truth.

 

[Zkribbler]

I've read somewhere that Tolkien based elves on the elves of Norse Mythology and that the Valar were based on the Norse gods. In that case the elves leaving for the Grey Havens would be them going to Valhalla I guess.

This is the part of the movie & book I liked the least.

 

[Ozbenno]

This is the part of the movie & book I liked the least.

I have re-read The Silmarillion a few times and I skip all the Valar stuff at the beginning and start reading from when the Elves leave.

 

[FloppyFishTully]

I've read somewhere that Tolkien based elves on the elves of Norse Mythology and that the Valar were based on the Norse gods. In that case the elves leaving for the Grey Havens would be them going to Valhalla I guess.

Tolkien was inspired by and took motives/themes/stuff from a lot of different mythologies. If you're interested and have some spare time, read this:

https://genius.com/J-r-r-tolkien-preface-to-the-silmarillion-a-letter-to-milton-waldman-annotated

 

[Aiken_Drumn]

Lord of the Rings Show's Hobbits Won't Be All White Like in the Movies

https://screenrant.com/lord-rings-show-diverse-hobbits-not-white/

Amazon's upcoming Lord of the Rings TV show will feature more diverse Hobbits according to British actor Lenny Henry, who will appear in the series.

TV show will feature Hobbits that are not white, according to Sir Lenny Henry. The epic fantasy trilogy followed hobbit Frodo Baggins in his heroic quest to destroy the Ring of Power and save Middle Earth from the tyranny of the Dark Lord. Peter Jackson's big screen adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's literary masterpiece is often considered one of the most successful and popular movie franchises of all time, and the success of the films prompted a similar adaptation of The Hobbit several years later.

Since the movies have ended, the legacy of The Lord of the Rings has continued to endure, with many comparing fantasies that have come since with the age-old classic. It was recently revealed that Amazon's Lord of the Rings TV show adaptation will receive a September 2022 release date to air on Prime Video streaming platform. The highly anticipated series has supposedly been in the works for years, and it's believed to be one of the most expensive television series ever made in terms of production costs and personnel.

Now, one of the stars of the show, British comedian Sir Lenny Henry, has praised the additional diversity in the show, with the inclusion of black hobbits. The 63-year-old appeared on BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live show to discuss the upcoming series, and his role in it. As reported by Bleeding Cool, Henry spoke about the differences between the show and the film series, and how there will be a greater focus on diversity and female empowerment in this adaptation.

"I'm a Harfoot, because JRR Tolkien, who was also from Birmingham, suddenly there were black hobbits, I'm a black hobbit, it's brilliant, and what's notable about this run of the books, its a prequel to the age that we've seen in the films, its about the early days of the Shire and Tolkien's environment, so we're an indigenous population of Harfoots, we're hobbits but we're called Harfoots, we're multi-cultural, we're a tribe not a race, so we're black, asian and brown, even Maori types within it."

While Amazon has yet to release a trailer for their Lord of the Rings TV show, there is actually quite a lot known about the series for it still being a year from release. The show will be set 1,000 years before the events of the movies, which will allow the writers to explore new stories with characters that audiences haven't met yet. Galadriel, Elrond, and Sauron will be part of the show's story, but there is a slew of other characters such as Oren, Beldor, Tyra, and Trevyn that audiences will be less familiar with. Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies did include a primarily white cast, but it's clear that Amazon is trying to diversify their characters.

Prime Video has become a top contender in the streaming wars with shows like The Boys and Invincible, and The Lord of the Rings should be another show to drive up their subscription numbers. Even 20 years since Jackson's first Lord of the Rings movie came out, the franchise is still incredibly popular. While characters like Frodo and Sam will always be beloved by fans, it will be a fresh change of pace to see more diversity in such a popular setting like Middle Earth. Regardless of what Amazon does, their show will likely be criticized if it strays away too much from Jackson's vision, but focusing more on diversity and female empowerment should be a welcome change to Lord of the Rings.

I think its exciting that works such as LotR can evolve with time. Really looking forwards to this adaption!

 

[Takhisis]

Next they'll do a Cruella and tell us how Morgoth, Sauron, Ungoliant and the Balrogs are all misunderstood.

 

[Aiken_Drumn]

Next they'll do a Cruella and tell us how Morgoth, Sauron, Ungoliant and the Balrogs are all misunderstood.

We already have The Last Ringbearer for that!

 

[Takhisis]

I mean they'll do it in a serious manner and as the official version instead of an unofficial obvious parody as Eskov did.