As it turns out, a Lord of the Rings show was almost brought to life by an entirely different streaming service. In fact, two major companies pitched their ideas to the Tolkien estate, however, the family was not impressed. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix and HBO both took a crack at the beloved franchise and were met with little enthusiasm. HBO initially pitched an idea following Middle-earths Third Age, which would ultimately be a retelling of the story Peter Jackson brought to life in his feature film trilogy. But, of course, the estate already had problems with his adaptation. Christopher Tolkien had claimed Jackson “eviscerated” the books, and the family didn’t want to tell the same story that’s already been done.
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Netflix would then take their shot at a Lord of the Rings show or multiple shows at once. One source tells THR that Netflix “took the Marvel approach,” pitching a Gandalf series and an Aragorn drama. However, the ideas “completely freaked out the estate,” and Netflix never got far into the creative process after that. The company likely wanted to play with the idea of a connected universe, as Marvel has done since 2008, and Game of Thrones is currently doing with their spinoffs and projects in development. However, the estate wanted the opposite, with one show and story being the prime focus.
Of course, fans will have their own opinion regarding The Rings of Power. However, there’s no denying that the showrunners have a deep love for the source material, as their effort can be seen and felt in every frame of the series. Fans can tune in to see Galadriel and the rest of the ensemble cast continue their adventure, with The Rings of Power arriving on Prime Video every Friday.
