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Chen G.
Mithlond
Dec 5 2025, 1:34pm
Post #1 of 3
(285 views)
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Pending regulation, the Netflix-Warner merger will give Netflix control over The Lord of the Rings films
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Netflix had announced that its acquisition of Warner Borthers "was unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both Netflix and WBD." This would give Netflix control over the Lord of the Rings films.
My understanding is the intention to keep Michael de Luca and Pamela Abdy in charge: after the reputation they had cultivated for themselves this last year, it would be PR suicide to replace them. de Luca, in particular, is a big fan of the book and was instrumental to bringing
The Lord of the Rings to New Line Cinema (and, by extension, Warners) to begin with.
Netflix had already expressed an interest in this property: during the bidding for the (separate) television rights, Netflix actually bid "tens of millions" MORE than Amazon prime. They actually pitched the Aragorn premise that would later be temporarily considered by Amazon, and that's obviously related to the premise of The Hunt for Gollum.
Note, however, that this transaction is far from over, since it's expected to face stiff scrutiny from the regulators, especially given the prominence of both Netflix and HBO in the streaming market.
(This post was edited by Chen G. on Dec 5 2025, 1:37pm)
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OldestDaughter
Nargothrond
Dec 15 2025, 5:02pm
Post #2 of 3
(227 views)
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I will be honest, I don't know how to feel about this
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I rather have Amazon have gotten more of the rights so they can continue to combine and connect the Rings of Power more into the films than they already have (That being said, I already watch the show and films as one big universe, even if there are some disconnections, they are small enough I can see it as one big thing) but after some of Netflix's issues with their current shows (I'm sorry, not a fan of the way the Witcher went) I don't know how well they would do with having the Middle-earth license, and even the Game of Thrones. Maybe I'm looking into this with little faith, but I don't know how to feel about it.
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Chen G.
Mithlond
Dec 18 2025, 9:51am
Post #3 of 3
(148 views)
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An Amazon deal would have been calamitous
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Amazon had thrown their hat in the ring early on but it never went far: the big competitors were Netflix, Paramount and to a lesser extent Universal. Amazon already owning Metro Goldwyn Mayer would have raised anti-trust issues.
It's also likely that a deal with Amazon would have taken too long to coalesce for it to have any effect on Rings of Power. I've actually made the case that even if the show was made from the outset by HBO, we would never have been able to really see it as a prequel in any way that would be effective. With Amazon, in spite of endless posturing especially in season one, it's impossible.
At most, one can view the first - and only the first - season of the show as being part of the same audiovisual oeuvre as the films, but not part of the same narrative.
(This post was edited by Chen G. on Dec 18 2025, 9:53am)
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