Warner Bros. has made it official: It will be returning to Middle Earth.
On Warner Bros. Discovery’s first-quarter earnings conference call on Thursday, CEO David Zaslav said that the company is “now in the early stages of script development” for new Lord of the Rings movies, which he says they “anticipate releasing in 2026” and will “explore storylines yet to be told.”
Zaslav says that director Peter Jackson and his longtime writing partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens “will be involved every step of the way.”
“Lord of the Rings is one of the most successful and revered franchises in history and presents a significant opportunity for our theatrical business,” Zaslav said.
WBD first said that it was developing new LOTR movies a little over a year ago, cutting a deal with rights holders Embracer Group AB to develop new films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series.
As The Hollywood Reporter noted at the time, Amazon is also developing its own larger TV universe for the franchise, potentially leading to the two competitive visions. Jackson and his co-writers were said to be frustrated that many people thought they were involved in the AMazon shows, when they were not.
The news that Jackson, Boyens and Walsh will be involved in the new film franchise (even if only as producers) is sure to calm any concerns from loyal fans.
The original film trilogy, which won a slew of Oscars, will be returning to theaters this summer, remastered and extended.