The Lord Of The Rings And The Hobbit Movie Rights Acquired By Video Game Company Embracer

Once upon a time, "The Lord of the Rings" was a legendary work of literature that fantasy enthusiasts regarded as one of the greatest works of fiction that hadn't reached mainstream success. That all changed with Warner Bros. and Peter Jackson's hugely successful and influential movie trilogy, which changed the way we look at fantasy and at blockbusters. 

Two decades and a prequel trilogy later, we are finally going back to Middle-earth with the upcoming "The Rings of Power" TV show, which aims at expanding what we think of J. R. R. Tolkien's Legendarium. That show is only allowed to adapt but one small part of the vast mythology and history of Middle-earth, however, taking its cue from the appendices in the books. When it was announced, the huge amount of money being poured into this adaptation and the scope of the story made it feel like the next big Middle-earth adaptation, and the only one of its kind we'd get for a long while. But they were all of them deceived.

While we do know that there is an anime movie in development at Warner Bros. based on Middle-earth, we could be about to get a whole lot more adaptations of Tolkien's work, because the entire rights to Middle-earth Enterprises — which oversees the film, game, theme park, stage play and all other kind of rights you could think of other than the publishing of the books themselves — have been sold. 

The Embracer Group has announced that they have acquired Middle-earth Enterprises, and now hold the rights to "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and "The Hobbit." This includes:

"Key upcoming works set in Middle-earth, in which Middle-earth Enterprises has financial interests, include the much-heralded Amazon series The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power which will premiere on September 2, 2022, set thousands of years before The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings; the animated movie The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (Warner Bros), set for release in 2024, and the mobile game The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth (Electronic Arts)."

Now, before you start gathering swords, shields, and axes, this doesn't mean that Embracer is going to cancel already announced projects. But what it does mean is that they are allowed to make even more projects based on this world and these characters, as they themselves explain:

"Opportunities include exploring additional movies based on iconic characters such as Gandalf, Aragorn, Gollum, Galadriel, Eowyn and other characters from the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien, and continue to provide new opportunities for fans to explore this fictive world through merchandising and other experiences."

Embracer has quickly built a name for themselves as a hungry acquirer of studios and companies, not unlike Sauron handing out fancy magic rings only to them ruling over them all. The Swedish company already owns video game companies Gearbox and THQ Nordic, and earlier this year they purchased several studios and properties from Square Enix, including several of its studios, and properties like "Deus Ex," "Tomb Raider," and "Thief." Outside of games, the conglomerate also purchased Dark Horse Comics, the publisher of "Hellboy" and "The Umbrella Academy."