It’s currently unclear what the new films will be focused on: Amazon’s new series tells stories from the lesser-known Second Age, while Peter Jackson’s original LOTR trilogy was set in the Third Age, when most of Tolkien’s most famous characters lived.
The announcement that Tolkien’s beloved works will be revamped in cinemas comes 20 years after director Jackson’s LOTR trilogy wrapped up with 2003′s Return of the King.
The three films collectively raked in US$3 billion ($3.27b) at the box office, pulled off 17 Oscar wins from a whopping 30 nominations, attracted widespread critical praise and reshaped the movie-making landscape with its special effects.
Jackson later returned to direct The Hobbit trilogy – released between 2012 and 2014 – which received less favourable reviews than its predecessor but still proved a financial slam dunk at the global box office with a US$2.93b ($3.2b) profit.
Following the new announcement, Jackson and his LOTR collaborators, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, released a statement to Variety stating that Warner Bros. had “kept us in the loop every step of the way”, adding that they “look forward to speaking with them further to hear their vision for the franchise moving forward”.
