What projects to YOU want to see? And who would need to be involved? I'll go first - a LOTR theme park based on the PJ films, requiring Middle-earth Enterprises (Embracer) and Warner Bros!
NONE. Leave Tolkien's creation alone. Anything made that wasn't Tolkein, has not been anywhere near as good as Tolkein. It's all just a huge greedy money grab. Anyone watching this should just stick to the books.
An animated telling of BEREN AND LUTHIEN. Or anything showing/telling "Finrod and Ardaneth" (probably got her name wrong--but methinks that is the BEST of Tolkien's writings about Middle Earth).
Copyright law and IP rights will always be more convoluted and complicated than anything that comes out of the Silmarillion. I think what really hit home for me how messy and stupid the whole thing is when there was a stink just because the two freaking words “Blue Wizards” was mentioned in the first Hobbit movie.
@@ricobarth no, the dark time of "strong" "female" characters, representation where it doesn't belong, and uncontrollable, emotionless milking of beloved franchises.
Middle Earth stories deserve to be unfold on big secreens, so love to see movies. And thank you so much telling us about 3 movies are being planned by WB, love to hear more about those projects
I wish that EA would just make an agreement with the rights owners to release the games on Steam. EA gives them 10% of sales or something. EA then just releases the games on Steam. It'd cost them nothing and make them tens of millions. If it's then really successful, maybe they can then discuss a sequel and remake/remaster.
I wouldn't mind a new one, but I'd _love_ BFME2 to get a definitive edition and official release on modern platforms. Today the _only_ way to get the game is piracy, and that sucks. Surprisingly, despite this, the game still has a strong community, with a total overhaul mod _Age of the Ring_ being released just last year, expanding the game to 11 factions including separate Gondor and Rohan factions and separate Lothlórien, Rivendell, and the Woodland Realm.
And entirely separately from Age of the Ring, there's another group ambitiously attempting to recreate BFME2 from scratch, called Battle for Middle Earth Reforged. Their development seems excruciatingly slow though.
I know, I am just one of the over 1M subscribers that you have, but i want to thank you for your passion in making videos on the Lord of the Rings world created by the beloved J R R Tolkien. I want to thank you because a decade ago, I began the journey of writing my own books. In 2 years I wrote the first draft of my first book. Over the next 6 years, I edited and made 3 other drafts, improving my story, but for 2 long years my book sat collecting digital dust for I had no motivation to continue the editing process. Life was getting harder as I grew older. I found your channel and dove deep into your passion of LOTR, of which I grew up reading and watching the movies. Your videos have inspired me to pick back up the pen and continue editing. I know it may sound strange, but thank you for helping me get over my writer's block and back to my own passion of creating my stories. and I love your videos!
I had an unusual schedule this week and so yesterday I thought it was Saturday… I kept waiting for your video to drop and by late afternoon I began to worry if you were ok or changing up things with the channel. Imagine my clarity and relief today when this video dropped! So, what I guess I’m saying is: Thank you for your consistent and quality work! It makes a difference in how my week goes!
EA's LOTR games would need a collaboration between 3 parties to be re-released. EA as developers, WB as owners of PJ's movie rights and Embracer as current ME enterprises owner.
It should also be noted the in the USA, Ace publishing company sold paperbacks of the Hobbit and LOTR without Tolkien's permission or payment because the UK/USA copywrite laws were not in sync. He signed an official agreement with Ballantine Books eventually.
The UK also has things enter public domain something like 15 years earlier than the US too. So we may have some interesting times in a couple of decades.
I would love to see the rise and fall of Gondolin - THAT was the pinnacle, I think, of the Noldaran time in Middle Earth... though it would be cool to see Doriath with Melian and Elu Thingol and then LUTHIEN!! That whole story on the big screen would be a dream come true!! (If done well). Thanks for explaining all that stuff about the rights. I really don't care who owns them... I just want them to get busy giving us adaptations for the screen ASAP!!
Would love to see you do a deep dive into the Orcs, their society and culture, both under and outside the control of the Dark Lords, and possible theories for how they endured or died off following the destruction of the One Ring.
To me something involving the years of the trees into the first age. Namely based around all the bad things about Melkor / Morgoth. Like stealing the Silmaril's, destroying the trees, Battle with Fingolfiin. Both TV and film would have to do time jumps but we have seen it happen successfully. An adaptation of the Valar to see what they could look like would be great. The Silmarillion, Unfinished tales, The History of ME are the main ones I would consider but these are the Tolkien estate which is less likely to happen.
From this point forward, the Tolkien Estate should require anyone interested in purchasing rights to pass an intelligence test, and then be questioned by a panel of Tolkien scholars.
Honestly the smart people will just wait til copyright expiration anyway. Even planning and outlining a project up until the day and then finishing it off and releasing it that very year.
@@evieblue959 Unfortunately _LOTR_ and _The Silmarillion_ have different expiration dates. I'll probably live to see _The Hobbit_ enter the public domain, but not the latter 2.
@@Theomite Even when The Hobbit *does* enter the public domain, it will be the earlier version with the original Gollum chapter and some other minor quirks (mention of gnomes, etc).
I just finished watching the The Hobbit Appendices last night. I think I've watched the appendices for LoTR and The Hobbit more times then I've watched the movies. I was just googling this last night. Thank you so much for the info.
I would like to see an operatic adaptation, if for no other reason than to hear Galadriel’s speech to Frodo “Instead of a dark lord, you would set up a queen, beautiful and terrible…” as a ravishingly gorgeous aria.
@@quentinducerf3730I read somewhere that he did not like the Ring of the Nibelungs opera at all (probably because Hitler liked it too but that's probably a stretch). Everything in Middle Earth that parallels the opera probably comes from the Norse sagas instead which Wagner also used as source material
Yes, that is true. But you also cannot get bad adaptations if none are allowed. 😌 Sacrificing possible good adaptations to prevent any bad ones seems like a valid approach to protect such a beautiful world. It would then come down to your own imagination directly from book descriptions and everyone would make their own perfect adaptation. 🥰
Not even half way through but thank you. There is so much all over the place when you try look it up & understanding it so this is really helpful & appreciated.
This was more interesting than I thought, I like what you said about adaptations. It'd be great to see a book about the fourth age and how middle earth started rebuilding.
I really want a film-adaptation of Children of Hurin so Im really hoping the Tolkien-Estate greenlights it one day. Other than that, Beren and Luthien would be nice to see on the big screen, as well as the Fall of Numenòr.
As a fan of Tolkien who came to his work through Jackson’s films I appreciate when there is continuity with the design and look of the worlds including props. I’ve been reading his works consistently the last 4 years or so and have such an appreciation for his work. I agree with you Matt, if no adaptions are made, we’ll never have a chance for something good.
It is interesting that you mentioned that during your interview with Philippa Boyens where she mentioned other types of dragons that you thought of Glaurung. While I would love to see an adaptation of Children of Hurin probably more than any other ME tale, the first thought I had while watching the interview was Scatha, since that relates directly to the lineage of the War of the North.
I for one wouldn’t mind one bit a film set in the 4th age with King Elesar and King Eomer waging their campaigns against the men of the east. I’d even say the actors now are a perfect age for it.
I've long wanted to see a great series adapting The Silmarillion. Feels like the next appropriate step after (or in the middle of) adapting the Second Age material with Rings of Power.
I'd love to see "Beren and Luthien," "The Children of Hurin," "The Fall of Gondor" and "The Fall of Nemenor" put to film versions, which I thought a few were in talks, right now? That would be done by the Tolkien Estate and I'd have to go back and see which Movie &/or Production Co., would be be the licensed party to make it. However, I thought Christopher Tolkien/the Tolkien Estate could almost pick which company, regarding the books to movies, I listed. Your idea of a theme park? Phenomenal! I'd be one of the first, with my brother-in-law, to get tickets!👍
I can't agree with you, because I came into the Legendarium via the LotR film trilogy. I haven't watch the movies in ages, yet I have bought and read much of the core books and HoME publications. My point is that anything that shows Arda in a Tolkienian way can convince viewers to start reading the books, and once they read the books they will be hooked.😁
Honestly I think the Children of Hurin would make as a great show showcasing a unique Tolkien story to audiences. -Lots of action -Tons of intrigue -A dark but still a hopeful story.
Woa, first thanks for ur awesome vids. I personally think the first age would be epicccc to adapt. Tolkien estate needs to distribute like you said, the silmarillian has too much content!
I also wouls love to see Turin Turambar brought to life on screen. The Children of Hurin is my favorite Tolkien book and Turin is my favorite Tolkien character. I hope someone can convince to Estate to make it happen.
10:03 I would love to see *ALL* of The Silmarillion adapted, in animated format though: the Ainulindalë, Feanor's oath, The Kinslaying at Alqualondë, Morgoth and Ungoliant destroying the two trees and the spider becoming bigger and bigger, the Love story between Beren and Luthien and them defeating Morgoth ... there are so many epic yet tragic moments in this book !!
Thanks for the detailed explanation. I think for me, a really beautifully crafted single live action film adapting the story of Beren and Luthien would be so exciting. There would be a film of all the great story elements of romance, drama, action, and horror. To me, it is the greatest story ever told. So needless to say, expectations would be high indeed. I hope I live long enough to see it happen!
For a game I’d love a Hobbiton farm simulator for cozy gamers. And nothing would be better than an animated series for Oromë, that story has massive potential for an insane animated adaptation.
I'd love to see Silmarillion as an anthology series. Depending on which story is being told, you'd have 2 or 3 feature length episodes per story. It would be hugely expensive to make of course though I don't see why it couldn't be done in animation. A version of the Second Age that isn't truncated the way Rings Of Power is would be great too, perhaps in a similar anthology format with the human cast changing between centuries.
Dominic Noble did a great video on the rights of the movie . The ones who held the rights originally produced a 10 minute movie just to keep the rights to the two books
Per your last question: I just want them to make the Battle for Middle-Earth able to be purchased on GoG or something. I know the first game is pretty easy to still get access to, but BFME2 is the one I really want to play again, and it's very tricky to get to.
Honestly I would love to see the war of wrath or at least have a film adaptation of the Journey of Fingolfin even if it's abridged or a trilogy it would be cool to see Fingolfins humility and growth throughout the saga and how his cooler head than Feanor and his patience with his brother led him to pave the way of elves to a golden age and the ending of his final ride to Angband would be immensely epic.
Thanks for taking the effort to create this overview, Nerd! ❤For years I've hoped for a remake of The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth (part one!), one of the best strategy games of all time. But with this complicated legal situation, that's probably a futile wish. 😥
A film based in the First Age and around the War of Wrath would be incredible! Whether live-action or animated. I would love to see consultants from New Line and Warner Bros that have overseen both of Peter Jackson's trilogies collaborating directly with the Tolkien Estate to bring to life the events leading up to Morgoth's fall, from the arrival of Earendil and reinforcements to the death of Ancalagon. It would be such a harrowing and exciting film to see unfold, for any fan of Tolkien's work!
While not canon in any sense of the word, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and gameplay of the shadow of mordor/war games. In the epilogue of the 2nd game it talks about Talion keeping the forces of Mordor at bay until succumbing to being a full on Nazgul. I would love a 3rd game that covered that and, honestly, a 4th game of just being a straight up Nazgul. Great video breaking down who owns what btw.
It's kind of wild we never got a 3rd Shadow game. They were up for GOTY both times and were excellent gaming experiences, even if the lore was complete bananas.
@NerdoftheRings to this day they are (specifically the 2nd game) my favorite melee based combat games. Especially with the nemesis system that was created. I often go back to the second game just to do the post epiologue stuff l. Not to mention the stealth aspect of them as well
Thanks, this helps. I'd like to see a short on Tevildo, Sauron's depiction as a cat would rock. For this to happen, it seems that the Tolkien estate needs to grant permission and the .5 to 1 hour length seems perfect for Newline to film in live action ... animation would be a second choice.😺
I've always thought that the Hobbit Trilogy was the Dwarves' story, the Lord of the Rings trilogy is the story of Men-so I would really love to see the Silmarillion adapted as a trilogy as the story of the Elves. Touching on Melkor, Feanor's oath and all the stuff within.
Any adaptations of the epic stories with rights currently unsold by the Tolkien estate would get me so hyped. Give me a Ralph Bakshi style animated film of Beren and Luthien, but one of the old versions where Sauron is still Tevildo prince of cats and Beren is an elf. Also would love to see a serious adaptation of the story of Aldarion and Erendis, that story is so good and undersung IMO
Another amazing video, as always. Thanks for everything you do, Nerd of the Rings! One question I've always had watching your videos: Where does your background music come from? It's always fantastic and suits your videos perfectly.
So the only thing I think you missed is that some TV rights were sold off by JRR. I believe a TV adaptation could be made without the Estate, but not without Embracer, if it consisted of eight or fewer episodes (basically a miniseries). I got this from an article back before the Rings of Power aired.
The irony of Tolkien writing about books with many different lesser rings and one ring to rule them all. Then his rights get divided up into lesser groups and then one production company to rule them all. Brilliant.
The funny thing is is that I was having this exact conversation with a friend of mine the other day about, that the only reason I would ever become a director is to direct and produce a Silmarillion series. I would adore the opportunity to partner with the Tolkien estate to create a Silmarillion series spanning over possibly three seasons. The first would begin with the creation of Arda and the fall of Melkor, with the creation of the first borns of Ilùvatar and the great journey west, this would span over two, possibly three episodes. The rest of this season would be on the line of Finwe and leading to the creation of the silmarills. Then we would have episodes dedicated to Melkor being released and how he presents weapons to the elves (more specifically Celegorm and Curifin Orome's hunters). This would then be building to the death of finwe and the first kin slaying and the Noldor led by Feanor sailing east to middle earth. The second season would continue from the first, starting with the Noldor's arrival in middle earth, with duel secenes with the crossing of the Helcaraxë. The later parts of the season would go into the dynamic of Feanor and his sons with the search for the Silmarills. This would also include the great battles taking place during the first half of the first age. This season would then also include the story of Beren and Luthien and the fall of Gondolin as it fits within the story of the sons of feanor, most likley ending with the "death" of Maedhros and wanderment of Maglor. The series would ultimately end with the end of the first age, unless I were to put more thought into a third season for the second age to introduce the first half of the first age and redeem some of the lesser parts of the Rings of Power. Jsst to put it out there, this is all just my opinion and what I would create with the rights of the Silmarillion from the Tolkien estate.
I would love to see one of the (if not THE) greatest and most interesting character arcs in the Tolkien universe, the Wronged, the Black Sword, the Slayer of Glaurung and Master of Fate, Túrin. Hot take: It would make a great theatre play as well, something like an Ancient Greek Tragedy.
I have never seen anything close to this review (granted, I haven’t looked!). One of the big things I was glad to hear is that the Tolkien family still holds substantial right given the paltry sum Tolkien received from UA in 1969. It’s always difficult to judge the worth of a product from decades ago in today’s context. The TV rights still held by the family ended up being something that may have been hard to predict in the 60s but ultimately set the stage for their largest licensing thus far.
Thanks for making this clear for us)) I`m looking forward to War of rohirim and other film projects, my personal dream would have to be silmarillion in anime stile but with Tolkien spirit in it
The Fall of Gondolin would be an epic film or a season if they adapted the Silmarillion as a show. There is enough content where you could devote a season to building up the suspense of the battle. You could even start the season with the Nirnaeth Arnoediad and follow continue the season from Turgon’s perspective. Throwing ideas out there but fun to think about!
I'd like an open world game in middle earth, where you can explore everywhere, the shire, gondor, mirkwood etc, create your own character at the beginning, elf, human, dwarf, hobbit, maybe a numenorian ??, it takes place between the fellowship of the ring and return of the king, you can take part in all the big battles from the movies, except the battle at the end of the fellowship of the ring because there's no way to insert your character without ruining the lore
I'd love to see a combination of *From Software Studios + Unreal Engine 5 + EA & WB* to create an open world all 4 ages of middle earth and....a DLC for valinor and the the initial creation of the world when the Valar crafted the land, sky, sea...but also when Melkor corrupted it all.... Man, that would be a masterpiece if done correctly :) Much love for the content! Have a blessed 2024 fellow Hobbit. 🍻 -JRoot
I Think that Wars with Witch King in Angmar and Fall of Arnor would be great as movies,as it will retain many characters like Elrond and Galadriel with Cirdan in role as well as we can see Glorfindel in Action although much of the fall of Arnor was only war but i would like to see them turn into adaptations
So, what about the public domain versions of LOTR? If someone used the Ace paperbacks as a basis, would that be kosher? I imagine that such may have been the case for the early microcomputer games in the 80s, but maybe not.
I would love to see the entire Silmarillion put to film or series, probably series, because it would be such a ginormous project. There are so many stories in the Silmarillion, that they could probably get at least ten seasons out of it. And how cool would it be if Peter Jackson and his crew were involved? And see all the beloved characters from his adaptations?
Super helpful, I was going to go do all this research myself and now I don't have to :D Since gaming has falls under embracer under M-E I'm assuming that was who OK'd the Magic crossover, one of my favorite adaptations to date. One area I'm wondering is about The Hobbit graphic novel I recently reviewed and any future graphic novels, sounds like those would all just fall under the estate since they were books unless they wanted to use visuals from any of the film adaptations.
We do NOT need a Children of Hurin adaptation, the world is tragic enough and I feel like GOT gave us enough of… all of that. Beren and Luthien, please!
Fantastic video! I was under the impression that Amazon only owned the rights to a specific time period within Middle Earth history. But what you say here implies that they actaully have the right to do a full War of the Ring remake in the form of a TV series if they wanted to..? Also interesting to learn how MGM came to have The Hobbit distribution rights. I think Unitied Artists was right, as I believe Peter Jackson originally wanted to make a trilogy where The Hobbit was the first movie, however as I understand, MGM didn’t want to do it, so they were forced into only adapting LoTR, and it took them years to finally get a green light from MGM to make the Hobbit films. In terms of adaptions, my dream is to have a video game called Lord of the Rings: Fellowship, which is similar to the Fellowship of the Ring and Return of the King video games, however a more modern approach and much more extensive. The main rights holder would be Warner Bros as I would want the designs, characters and voice actors of the films, however it’s likely there’s extra material from the books that would need to be lisenced as well, so ME Enterprises would be involved - notably I recall seeing the Tolkien Enterprises logo on Battle for Middle Earth 2, which had a lot of book only content adapted into it. My summary for the idea of the game is that you follow the entire journey of the Fellowship, from when Frodo first inherits the ring (although the pre-Rivendell section would be brief, basically to get you used to the gameplay/mechanics), and you get to play any of the characters of your choice, from the point at which they enter the story, and then when the Fellowship breaks up you follow each path individually. Story wise would follow a similar path to the first Battle for Middle Earth campaign. However a twist I would like to add is the importance of keeping your character alive. I would like the game to have more consequences than just replaying a level if you die. If you play as Aragorn in Moria and get killed by a troll, then Aragorn I think he should be dead indefinately, and you have to continue playing as a different character. I think throughout the game they would give you opportunities to revive certain characters via some Elf magic or something, just so it isn’t soul destroyingly punishing, however I would make this a rather limited ability that can’t be easily reused. Likewise, you could change the outcome of the story by having characters survive where they didn’t in the books/films. Eg let’s say at Amon Hen you are forced to play as Boromir. I would make the battle very difficult so that most players naturally lose Boromir as per the story, however if you are skilled enough, you can survive and keep Boromir, then he can have a much greater impact later in the story when the characters visit Gondor. I think this would add a very interesting dynamic that would be great for replayability and for content creators. You could also survive Moria with Gandalf, meaning he doesn’t come back as Gandalf the White, however he would still be able to die later and always have the chance to come back to you at the turn of the tide… Most devastating would be if you lose Frodo. Then one of the other Hobbits would have to become the Ring Bearer. Or maybe you lose Aragorn and Boromir or Faramir ends up being given command over Gondor at the end of the story. I like the idea of having multiple endings to the game based on how you played it. Probably is very complicated to make it work, but damn it could be a good game.
What projects to YOU want to see? And who would need to be involved? I'll go first - a LOTR theme park based on the PJ films, requiring Middle-earth Enterprises (Embracer) and Warner Bros!
I want a remake of the PlayStation LOTR games. Return of the King was especially good.
NONE. Leave Tolkien's creation alone. Anything made that wasn't Tolkein, has not been anywhere near as good as Tolkein. It's all just a huge greedy money grab. Anyone watching this should just stick to the books.
I want Peter Jackson has creative director of everything and whatever he wants to do.
An animated telling of BEREN AND LUTHIEN.
Or anything showing/telling "Finrod and Ardaneth" (probably got her name wrong--but methinks that is the BEST of Tolkien's writings about Middle Earth).
Open-world RPG, PJ universe. Basically the cancelled White Council game.
A "Children of Hurin" adaptation would be perfect! Tragedy, action, plot twist, heroism.
I am so happy you made this video. Alot of ppl are still confused as to what can and cannot be used from the books. Again, thank you! ❤
Now THIS is a complicated lore video I need to learn more about.
Right?!
Anything from the 1st age would be glorious. Also I’d love to see Tar-Aldarions story as well, love that one.
Copyright law and IP rights will always be more convoluted and complicated than anything that comes out of the Silmarillion. I think what really hit home for me how messy and stupid the whole thing is when there was a stink just because the two freaking words “Blue Wizards” was mentioned in the first Hobbit movie.
It's for the better if the Silmarillion stays away from Hollywood in this dark time.
uhh too late wtf lol??? @@valentinkambushev4968
Rings of Power is trash, and the more it stinks up the space, the better@@valentinkambushev4968
@@valentinkambushev4968 Yeah right. The dark time of Dune: a stellar adaptation of the only books that even approach Tolkien's in complexity?
@@ricobarth no, the dark time of "strong" "female" characters, representation where it doesn't belong, and uncontrollable, emotionless milking of beloved franchises.
Middle Earth stories deserve to be unfold on big secreens, so love to see movies. And thank you so much telling us about 3 movies are being planned by WB, love to hear more about those projects
i just want a new battle for middle earth game. best rts ever
Lets hope Embracer make it. :D
I wish that EA would just make an agreement with the rights owners to release the games on Steam.
EA gives them 10% of sales or something. EA then just releases the games on Steam. It'd cost them nothing and make them tens of millions.
If it's then really successful, maybe they can then discuss a sequel and remake/remaster.
I wouldn't mind a new one, but I'd _love_ BFME2 to get a definitive edition and official release on modern platforms. Today the _only_ way to get the game is piracy, and that sucks.
Surprisingly, despite this, the game still has a strong community, with a total overhaul mod _Age of the Ring_ being released just last year, expanding the game to 11 factions including separate Gondor and Rohan factions and separate Lothlórien, Rivendell, and the Woodland Realm.
And entirely separately from Age of the Ring, there's another group ambitiously attempting to recreate BFME2 from scratch, called Battle for Middle Earth Reforged. Their development seems excruciatingly slow though.
I would be happy if they did similar to Battlefront Classic Collection.
This is incredibly complicated, but I'm hoping it will somehow lead to a LOTR theme park. That would be absolutely amazing!
God hopefully not lol
I know, I am just one of the over 1M subscribers that you have, but i want to thank you for your passion in making videos on the Lord of the Rings world created by the beloved J R R Tolkien. I want to thank you because a decade ago, I began the journey of writing my own books. In 2 years I wrote the first draft of my first book. Over the next 6 years, I edited and made 3 other drafts, improving my story, but for 2 long years my book sat collecting digital dust for I had no motivation to continue the editing process. Life was getting harder as I grew older. I found your channel and dove deep into your passion of LOTR, of which I grew up reading and watching the movies. Your videos have inspired me to pick back up the pen and continue editing. I know it may sound strange, but thank you for helping me get over my writer's block and back to my own passion of creating my stories. and I love your videos!
I had an unusual schedule this week and so yesterday I thought it was Saturday… I kept waiting for your video to drop and by late afternoon I began to worry if you were ok or changing up things with the channel.
Imagine my clarity and relief today when this video dropped! So, what I guess I’m saying is:
Thank you for your consistent and quality work! It makes a difference in how my week goes!
EA's LOTR games would need a collaboration between 3 parties to be re-released. EA as developers, WB as owners of PJ's movie rights and Embracer as current ME enterprises owner.
I want this so much!
Or a new tripple AAA game where you play through the Trilogy as any character you wish.
Is there any sign that something like this in the works?
A shame. The two EA hack n slash games are so much fun.
To my understanding it would ONLY need EA and ME not WB.
GOD, I want Battle for Middle Earth remastered so bad!!
It should also be noted the in the USA, Ace publishing company sold paperbacks of the Hobbit and LOTR without Tolkien's permission or payment because the UK/USA copywrite laws were not in sync. He signed an official agreement with Ballantine Books eventually.
The UK also has things enter public domain something like 15 years earlier than the US too. So we may have some interesting times in a couple of decades.
I’m a massive movie enjoyer but with Tolkien people like you have taught me to be content with the source material
I love the fact that The Tolkien Estate, after all these years is still continuing to do their best to tell the actual story.
I would love to see the rise and fall of Gondolin - THAT was the pinnacle, I think, of the Noldaran time in Middle Earth... though it would be cool to see Doriath with Melian and Elu Thingol and then LUTHIEN!! That whole story on the big screen would be a dream come true!! (If done well). Thanks for explaining all that stuff about the rights. I really don't care who owns them... I just want them to get busy giving us adaptations for the screen ASAP!!
Would love to see you do a deep dive into the Orcs, their society and culture, both under and outside the control of the Dark Lords, and possible theories for how they endured or died off following the destruction of the One Ring.
Shagrat narrating would be awesome though.
To me something involving the years of the trees into the first age. Namely based around all the bad things about Melkor / Morgoth. Like stealing the Silmaril's, destroying the trees, Battle with Fingolfiin. Both TV and film would have to do time jumps but we have seen it happen successfully. An adaptation of the Valar to see what they could look like would be great. The Silmarillion, Unfinished tales, The History of ME are the main ones I would consider but these are the Tolkien estate which is less likely to happen.
From this point forward, the Tolkien Estate should require anyone interested in purchasing rights to pass an intelligence test, and then be questioned by a panel of Tolkien scholars.
Honestly the smart people will just wait til copyright expiration anyway. Even planning and outlining a project up until the day and then finishing it off and releasing it that very year.
@@evieblue959 Unfortunately _LOTR_ and _The Silmarillion_ have different expiration dates. I'll probably live to see _The Hobbit_ enter the public domain, but not the latter 2.
I would happily become a Tolkien scholar for just such purposes.
@@Theomite Even when The Hobbit *does* enter the public domain, it will be the earlier version with the original Gollum chapter and some other minor quirks (mention of gnomes, etc).
@@curtthegamer934 Hey, a win is a win.
I just finished watching the The Hobbit Appendices last night. I think I've watched the appendices for LoTR and The Hobbit more times then I've watched the movies. I was just googling this last night. Thank you so much for the info.
This! But it's hard to get them nowadays..
I would like to see an operatic adaptation, if for no other reason than to hear Galadriel’s speech to Frodo “Instead of a dark lord, you would set up a queen, beautiful and terrible…” as a ravishingly gorgeous aria.
Think that Tolkien s work was already inspired by Wagner s opera (Niebelung by example)
@@quentinducerf3730I read somewhere that he did not like the Ring of the Nibelungs opera at all (probably because Hitler liked it too but that's probably a stretch). Everything in Middle Earth that parallels the opera probably comes from the Norse sagas instead which Wagner also used as source material
"you can't get great adaptions if you don't have any adaptations being made" I agree 💯 my friend
Yes, that is true. But you also cannot get bad adaptations if none are allowed. 😌 Sacrificing possible good adaptations to prevent any bad ones seems like a valid approach to protect such a beautiful world. It would then come down to your own imagination directly from book descriptions and everyone would make their own perfect adaptation. 🥰
@@jaimy_games "20 years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did..." Mark Twain
@@patricklacey4946 Sorry 😶🌫 that's not how my brain works. 🤷♀
Not even half way through but thank you. There is so much all over the place when you try look it up & understanding it so this is really helpful & appreciated.
This was more interesting than I thought, I like what you said about adaptations. It'd be great to see a book about the fourth age and how middle earth started rebuilding.
I really want a film-adaptation of Children of Hurin so Im really hoping the Tolkien-Estate greenlights it one day. Other than that, Beren and Luthien would be nice to see on the big screen, as well as the Fall of Numenòr.
As a fan of Tolkien who came to his work through Jackson’s films I appreciate when there is continuity with the design and look of the worlds including props. I’ve been reading his works consistently the last 4 years or so and have such an appreciation for his work. I agree with you Matt, if no adaptions are made, we’ll never have a chance for something good.
Interesting all the moving pieces that go into rights and distribution.
It is interesting that you mentioned that during your interview with Philippa Boyens where she mentioned other types of dragons that you thought of Glaurung. While I would love to see an adaptation of Children of Hurin probably more than any other ME tale, the first thought I had while watching the interview was Scatha, since that relates directly to the lineage of the War of the North.
"War of the Rohirrim", rather.
You explained this so simply yet it was still so hard to understand. I appreciate the breakdown.
I for one wouldn’t mind one bit a film set in the 4th age with King Elesar and King Eomer waging their campaigns against the men of the east. I’d even say the actors now are a perfect age for it.
That's a good idea for Embracer Group/Warner Bros/New Line!
I've long wanted to see a great series adapting The Silmarillion. Feels like the next appropriate step after (or in the middle of) adapting the Second Age material with Rings of Power.
I'd love to see "Beren and Luthien," "The Children of Hurin," "The Fall of Gondor" and "The Fall of Nemenor" put to film versions, which I thought a few were in talks, right now? That would be done by the Tolkien Estate and I'd have to go back and see which Movie &/or Production Co., would be be the licensed party to make it. However, I thought Christopher Tolkien/the Tolkien Estate could almost pick which company, regarding the books to movies, I listed. Your idea of a theme park? Phenomenal! I'd be one of the first, with my brother-in-law, to get tickets!👍
I'd love a Beren and Luhtien movie. Tkanks for this video, it helped me understand the subject :)
I can't agree with you, because I came into the Legendarium via the LotR film trilogy. I haven't watch the movies in ages, yet I have bought and read much of the core books and HoME publications.
My point is that anything that shows Arda in a Tolkienian way can convince viewers to start reading the books, and once they read the books they will be hooked.😁
Honestly I think the Children of Hurin would make as a great show showcasing a unique Tolkien story to audiences.
-Lots of action
-Tons of intrigue
-A dark but still a hopeful story.
It's amazing that in just 4 years you reached such a huge amount of subscribers
pretty excited for the new anime coming out, think it's a great avenue for the series.
A great and much needed video. Thank you.
You keep raising the bar, Matt. Amazing idea for a video. Also love you co-hosting on the PPP. Please do come back!
Woa, first thanks for ur awesome vids. I personally think the first age would be epicccc to adapt. Tolkien estate needs to distribute like you said, the silmarillian has too much content!
I also wouls love to see Turin Turambar brought to life on screen. The Children of Hurin is my favorite Tolkien book and Turin is my favorite Tolkien character. I hope someone can convince to Estate to make it happen.
10:03 I would love to see *ALL* of The Silmarillion adapted, in animated format though: the Ainulindalë, Feanor's oath, The Kinslaying at Alqualondë, Morgoth and Ungoliant destroying the two trees and the spider becoming bigger and bigger, the Love story between Beren and Luthien and them defeating Morgoth ... there are so many epic yet tragic moments in this book !!
Thanks for untangling and clarifying these rights. In terms of drama adaptations, definitely the Children of Hurin and Fall of Gondolin.
I think a Tom Bombadill children’s cartoon would be a good adaptation.
Thank you so much for the great summation. The copyright side is so often missed out in conversation.
Great video 👏 I didn't know about this 👌 I'd love to see a TV series about the Silmarillion 😁
Great video as a Lawyer and Fan everything makes so much sense now.
All I know is that there is more Middle-earth content arriving! That is all i want for the next 80 years!
Exactly!
Such a great video! Thanks for diving into the the rights aspect of Middle-earth. Next, I'd love to see you breakdown the Council of Elrond. 👍
Thanks for the detailed explanation. I think for me, a really beautifully crafted single live action film adapting the story of Beren and Luthien would be so exciting. There would be a film of all the great story elements of romance, drama, action, and horror. To me, it is the greatest story ever told. So needless to say, expectations would be high indeed. I hope I live long enough to see it happen!
thank you so much for making this video- it really helps narrow down who owns what and gives ideas as to what could come in the future. 🤔
For a game I’d love a Hobbiton farm simulator for cozy gamers. And nothing would be better than an animated series for Oromë, that story has massive potential for an insane animated adaptation.
You're literally getting that with Tales of the Shire.
I'd love to see Silmarillion as an anthology series. Depending on which story is being told, you'd have 2 or 3 feature length episodes per story. It would be hugely expensive to make of course though I don't see why it couldn't be done in animation.
A version of the Second Age that isn't truncated the way Rings Of Power is would be great too, perhaps in a similar anthology format with the human cast changing between centuries.
Dominic Noble did a great video on the rights of the movie . The ones who held the rights originally produced a 10 minute movie just to keep the rights to the two books
Per your last question: I just want them to make the Battle for Middle-Earth able to be purchased on GoG or something. I know the first game is pretty easy to still get access to, but BFME2 is the one I really want to play again, and it's very tricky to get to.
Honestly I would love to see the war of wrath or at least have a film adaptation of the Journey of Fingolfin even if it's abridged or a trilogy it would be cool to see Fingolfins humility and growth throughout the saga and how his cooler head than Feanor and his patience with his brother led him to pave the way of elves to a golden age and the ending of his final ride to Angband would be immensely epic.
This was a well put together and helpful video. Thanks Matt 🧝♂️
Excellent video - thank you for this!
Thanks for taking the effort to create this overview, Nerd! ❤For years I've hoped for a remake of The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth (part one!), one of the best strategy games of all time. But with this complicated legal situation, that's probably a futile wish. 😥
Thank you for the amazing dive into who owns what. I love it
A film based in the First Age and around the War of Wrath would be incredible! Whether live-action or animated. I would love to see consultants from New Line and Warner Bros that have overseen both of Peter Jackson's trilogies collaborating directly with the Tolkien Estate to bring to life the events leading up to Morgoth's fall, from the arrival of Earendil and reinforcements to the death of Ancalagon. It would be such a harrowing and exciting film to see unfold, for any fan of Tolkien's work!
Farmer Giles and Fall of Gondolin would be great to see.
Great video on this really complex topic
This video was very much needed, thanks for the explanation!
Rings of Power was a great start to a show, I can not wait for many more seasons to come
While not canon in any sense of the word, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and gameplay of the shadow of mordor/war games. In the epilogue of the 2nd game it talks about Talion keeping the forces of Mordor at bay until succumbing to being a full on Nazgul. I would love a 3rd game that covered that and, honestly, a 4th game of just being a straight up Nazgul. Great video breaking down who owns what btw.
It's kind of wild we never got a 3rd Shadow game. They were up for GOTY both times and were excellent gaming experiences, even if the lore was complete bananas.
@NerdoftheRings to this day they are (specifically the 2nd game) my favorite melee based combat games. Especially with the nemesis system that was created. I often go back to the second game just to do the post epiologue stuff l. Not to mention the stealth aspect of them as well
@@NerdoftheRingsspeaking of which when are you going to do your review of those games
I'd love to see a video on how Tolkien influenced Dungeons and Dragons and the genre of fantasy as a whole
Thanks, this helps. I'd like to see a short on Tevildo, Sauron's depiction as a cat would rock. For this to happen, it seems that the Tolkien estate needs to grant permission and the .5 to 1 hour length seems perfect for Newline to film in live action ... animation would be a second choice.😺
I've always thought that the Hobbit Trilogy was the Dwarves' story, the Lord of the Rings trilogy is the story of Men-so I would really love to see the Silmarillion adapted as a trilogy as the story of the Elves. Touching on Melkor, Feanor's oath and all the stuff within.
Any adaptations of the epic stories with rights currently unsold by the Tolkien estate would get me so hyped.
Give me a Ralph Bakshi style animated film of Beren and Luthien, but one of the old versions where Sauron is still Tevildo prince of cats and Beren is an elf. Also would love to see a serious adaptation of the story of Aldarion and Erendis, that story is so good and undersung IMO
Another amazing video, as always. Thanks for everything you do, Nerd of the Rings!
One question I've always had watching your videos: Where does your background music come from? It's always fantastic and suits your videos perfectly.
Angmar deserves its own video, I love this place
So the only thing I think you missed is that some TV rights were sold off by JRR. I believe a TV adaptation could be made without the Estate, but not without Embracer, if it consisted of eight or fewer episodes (basically a miniseries). I got this from an article back before the Rings of Power aired.
My favorite stories are "The Children of Hurin" and "Erendis and Aldarion," but I doubt that Hollywood could do them justice.
The irony of Tolkien writing about books with many different lesser rings and one ring to rule them all. Then his rights get divided up into lesser groups and then one production company to rule them all. Brilliant.
The thought of the children of hurin tv show is something out of a dream. middle earth's version of the mandalorian.
But much more tragic
The funny thing is is that I was having this exact conversation with a friend of mine the other day about, that the only reason I would ever become a director is to direct and produce a Silmarillion series.
I would adore the opportunity to partner with the Tolkien estate to create a Silmarillion series spanning over possibly three seasons. The first would begin with the creation of Arda and the fall of Melkor, with the creation of the first borns of Ilùvatar and the great journey west, this would span over two, possibly three episodes. The rest of this season would be on the line of Finwe and leading to the creation of the silmarills. Then we would have episodes dedicated to Melkor being released and how he presents weapons to the elves (more specifically Celegorm and Curifin Orome's hunters). This would then be building to the death of finwe and the first kin slaying and the Noldor led by Feanor sailing east to middle earth.
The second season would continue from the first, starting with the Noldor's arrival in middle earth, with duel secenes with the crossing of the Helcaraxë. The later parts of the season would go into the dynamic of Feanor and his sons with the search for the Silmarills. This would also include the great battles taking place during the first half of the first age. This season would then also include the story of Beren and Luthien and the fall of Gondolin as it fits within the story of the sons of feanor, most likley ending with the "death" of Maedhros and wanderment of Maglor.
The series would ultimately end with the end of the first age, unless I were to put more thought into a third season for the second age to introduce the first half of the first age and redeem some of the lesser parts of the Rings of Power.
Jsst to put it out there, this is all just my opinion and what I would create with the rights of the Silmarillion from the Tolkien estate.
Thanks! Nice explanation!
I would love to see one of the (if not THE) greatest and most interesting character arcs in the Tolkien universe, the Wronged, the Black Sword, the Slayer of Glaurung and Master of Fate, Túrin. Hot take: It would make a great theatre play as well, something like an Ancient Greek Tragedy.
I would love to see more of Shadows series, the nemesis system and collecting Orcs in this game is so good.
I have never seen anything close to this review (granted, I haven’t looked!). One of the big things I was glad to hear is that the Tolkien family still holds substantial right given the paltry sum Tolkien received from UA in 1969. It’s always difficult to judge the worth of a product from decades ago in today’s context. The TV rights still held by the family ended up being something that may have been hard to predict in the 60s but ultimately set the stage for their largest licensing thus far.
Thanks for making this clear for us)) I`m looking forward to War of rohirim and other film projects, my personal dream would have to be silmarillion in anime stile but with Tolkien spirit in it
The Knights Vault sword shop in Edinburgh sells the dagger from rings of power, and they are licensed just to let you know 👌🏼
I'd love to see an adaptation of the friendship between Beleg and Turin.
The Fall of Gondolin would be an epic film or a season if they adapted the Silmarillion as a show. There is enough content where you could devote a season to building up the suspense of the battle. You could even start the season with the Nirnaeth Arnoediad and follow continue the season from Turgon’s perspective. Throwing ideas out there but fun to think about!
I was hoping this would be on LOTR civil rights, but your topic is good too.
I'd like an open world game in middle earth, where you can explore everywhere, the shire, gondor, mirkwood etc, create your own character at the beginning, elf, human, dwarf, hobbit, maybe a numenorian ??, it takes place between the fellowship of the ring and return of the king, you can take part in all the big battles from the movies, except the battle at the end of the fellowship of the ring because there's no way to insert your character without ruining the lore
I'd love to see a combination of *From Software Studios + Unreal Engine 5 + EA & WB* to create an open world all 4 ages of middle earth and....a DLC for valinor and the the initial creation of the world when the Valar crafted the land, sky, sea...but also when Melkor corrupted it all....
Man, that would be a masterpiece if done correctly :)
Much love for the content! Have a blessed 2024 fellow Hobbit. 🍻
-JRoot
I’d love to see a collaboration with LegalEagle here!
I Think that Wars with Witch King in Angmar and Fall of Arnor would be great as movies,as it will retain many characters like Elrond and Galadriel with Cirdan in role as well as we can see Glorfindel in Action although much of the fall of Arnor was only war but i would like to see them turn into adaptations
So, what about the public domain versions of LOTR? If someone used the Ace paperbacks as a basis, would that be kosher? I imagine that such may have been the case for the early microcomputer games in the 80s, but maybe not.
A great collab between those who holds the right is needed for a proper adaptation of Tolkien's works.
The Simarillion from the Ainlindale through Quenta Slimarillion in order
Start at the beginning and finish at the end.
I would love to see the entire Silmarillion put to film or series, probably series, because it would be such a ginormous project. There are so many stories in the Silmarillion, that they could probably get at least ten seasons out of it. And how cool would it be if Peter Jackson and his crew were involved? And see all the beloved characters from his adaptations?
Super helpful, I was going to go do all this research myself and now I don't have to :D Since gaming has falls under embracer under M-E I'm assuming that was who OK'd the Magic crossover, one of my favorite adaptations to date. One area I'm wondering is about The Hobbit graphic novel I recently reviewed and any future graphic novels, sounds like those would all just fall under the estate since they were books unless they wanted to use visuals from any of the film adaptations.
I'd love to see a Beren and Luthien movie.
This makes me so sad. I hate these copyright wars.
We do NOT need a Children of Hurin adaptation, the world is tragic enough and I feel like GOT gave us enough of… all of that. Beren and Luthien, please!
Or Tuor and Idril Celebrindal.😁🙏👍
Yes please!!
Yessss
Fantastic video! I was under the impression that Amazon only owned the rights to a specific time period within Middle Earth history. But what you say here implies that they actaully have the right to do a full War of the Ring remake in the form of a TV series if they wanted to..? Also interesting to learn how MGM came to have The Hobbit distribution rights. I think Unitied Artists was right, as I believe Peter Jackson originally wanted to make a trilogy where The Hobbit was the first movie, however as I understand, MGM didn’t want to do it, so they were forced into only adapting LoTR, and it took them years to finally get a green light from MGM to make the Hobbit films.
In terms of adaptions, my dream is to have a video game called Lord of the Rings: Fellowship, which is similar to the Fellowship of the Ring and Return of the King video games, however a more modern approach and much more extensive. The main rights holder would be Warner Bros as I would want the designs, characters and voice actors of the films, however it’s likely there’s extra material from the books that would need to be lisenced as well, so ME Enterprises would be involved - notably I recall seeing the Tolkien Enterprises logo on Battle for Middle Earth 2, which had a lot of book only content adapted into it.
My summary for the idea of the game is that you follow the entire journey of the Fellowship, from when Frodo first inherits the ring (although the pre-Rivendell section would be brief, basically to get you used to the gameplay/mechanics), and you get to play any of the characters of your choice, from the point at which they enter the story, and then when the Fellowship breaks up you follow each path individually. Story wise would follow a similar path to the first Battle for Middle Earth campaign. However a twist I would like to add is the importance of keeping your character alive. I would like the game to have more consequences than just replaying a level if you die. If you play as Aragorn in Moria and get killed by a troll, then Aragorn I think he should be dead indefinately, and you have to continue playing as a different character. I think throughout the game they would give you opportunities to revive certain characters via some Elf magic or something, just so it isn’t soul destroyingly punishing, however I would make this a rather limited ability that can’t be easily reused. Likewise, you could change the outcome of the story by having characters survive where they didn’t in the books/films. Eg let’s say at Amon Hen you are forced to play as Boromir. I would make the battle very difficult so that most players naturally lose Boromir as per the story, however if you are skilled enough, you can survive and keep Boromir, then he can have a much greater impact later in the story when the characters visit Gondor. I think this would add a very interesting dynamic that would be great for replayability and for content creators. You could also survive Moria with Gandalf, meaning he doesn’t come back as Gandalf the White, however he would still be able to die later and always have the chance to come back to you at the turn of the tide…
Most devastating would be if you lose Frodo. Then one of the other Hobbits would have to become the Ring Bearer. Or maybe you lose Aragorn and Boromir or Faramir ends up being given command over Gondor at the end of the story. I like the idea of having multiple endings to the game based on how you played it. Probably is very complicated to make it work, but damn it could be a good game.
That moment when you realize, that the 3rd eagle in the scene was for gollum...
Bruh.