Warner Bros. lukewarm quarterly results Discovery was probably only of interest to a few digital spies, but anyone with experience knows that the weaker the numbers you publish, the more you have to promise at the end of the speech. And here David Zaslav tried hard, because in addition to negotiations with JK Rowling about other, not just video game, adventures from the world Harry Potter (but there we all know JK is a bit on the knife side with the loud part of his fandom), he detonated the Hollywood nuke. For an undisclosed sum, Warners has acquired the film rights from the Swedish video game giant Embracer Group lord of the rings. It will be created under the banner of New Line, so it’s like going back twenty-two years.
That is, except for the fact that even Peter Jackson could not successfully enter this river for the second time. Of course, this will not stop Zaslav, because this announcement alone could prevent a possible drop in shares. Rock fans may have a bitter taste in their mouths after the series Rings of Power (Amazon bought the rights to the series for half a billion dollars, how much did Warners pay?), but these are films on the silver screen produced by the studio that brought us the originals. Yes, only the most credulous probably believe without limit that in three years they will go and stand in line and experience in the multiplex what they did back then. Others prefer to buy Blu-rays with the extended version before Zaslav bans them to avoid a painful comparison.
The producers who will be in charge of the new films promise in advance that they will not follow in Jackson’s footsteps and will try to follow up with respect and humility. How, where, and with whom, no one knows yet, so this grand announcement is more of an exploration balloon. We’ll probably know more when the armies of Internet debaters stop rattling their guns. Until then, head over to the comments so you can talk about everything
