The first two episodes of Amazon‘s mega-budgeted “The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power” hit Amazon Prime on September 1. But that show’s inception may no longer be the biggest “Lord Of The Rings” news out there.
Deadline reports that Swedish video game company Embracer Group acquired Middle-earth Enterprises, a division of the Saul Zaentz Company, which owns the intellectual property catalog and worldwide rights to all things related to “Lord Of The Rings.” So what exactly does this mean? Well, Embracer now has all production rights relating to both “The Lord Of The Rings” and “The Hobbit” franchises. On top of that, they also have matching rights to other literary works in Middle-earth that HarperCollins and the Tolkien Estate authorize.
In other words: Embracer holds the keys to the future of all things “The Lord Of The Rings.” The IP portfolio Embrace acquires in the deal pertains to the rights of virtually everything: motion pictures, video games, board games, merchandising, and even theme parks and stage productions. But despite this massive deal, there won’t be a seismic shift in Middle-earth Enterprises itself. The company becomes part of the new operative group Embracer Freemode in the acquisition, but it will continue to operate independently under its current leadership.
Embracer Group CEO Lars Wingefors sounded confident about the new deal and what it entails for the future of “The Lord Of The Rings.” “I am truly excited to have The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, one of the world’s most epic fantasy franchises, join the Embracer family, opening up more transmedia opportunities including synergies across our global group,” he said. “I am thrilled to see what lies in the future for this IP with Freemode and Asmodee as a start within the group. Going forward, we also look forward to collaborating with both existing and new external licensees of our increasingly stronger IP portfolio.”
Meanwhile, Saul Zaentz Company COO Marty Glick had a statement of his own about the purchase. “We at the Zaentz Company have had the honor over the past half-century of stewarding the Tolkien rights so that Lord of the Rings and Hobbit fans worldwide could enjoy award winning epic films, challenging video games, first rate theatre and merchandise of every variety,” he said. “We could not be more thrilled that it is Embracer now taking up the responsibility and we are confident their group will take it to new heights and dimensions while maintaining homage to the spirit of these great literary works.”
Embracer Group’s purchase of Middle-earth Enterprises shouldn’t be that big of a surprise for those in the know. Embracer’s operative group, Asmodee Group, has a long-standing relationship with Tolkein IP with their “The Lord Of The Rings” board game and card games. Still, having IP rights to everything related to the franchises is on another level.
But what does this deal mean for “The Lord Of The Rings”-related projects already in production, like the upcoming Warner Bros. animated film “The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim“? Short answer: not much. Things will continue as they have in the Tolkein-verse after Embracer’s deal, but Embracer now oversees how this IP gets used in the future. Does that mean some unexpected projects will get made? Most likely, but the short-term future of Tolkein-related works remains secure.
