Christopher Tolkien Resigns From The Tolkien Estate – Does This Mean More ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Movies And Shows?
By Jacob Hall/Nov. 15, 2017 9:30 am EST
But now, Christopher Tolkien has resigned as director of the Tolkien estate and that means more movies and shows (and possibly projects beyond that) set in this legendary fantasy world may come to pass.
TheOneRing.net brings the news of Christopher Tolkien’s resignation, which follows the publication of Beren and Luthien, described as “[his] last book in the long series of editions of [his] father’s writings.” Tolkien is 93 years old and has dedicated his life to preserving his father’s work, editing and publishing various stories and collections over the decades. Regardless of whether you agree with him about the Lord of the Rings movies or not (“They gutted the book, making an action film for 15 to 25-year-olds”), he’s the reason Middle-Earth, and the brilliant characters who inhabit it, endure to this day. His stepping down is a monumental moment for fantasy literature.
For the finer points of Christopher Tolkien’s legacy, I recommend clicking that link above. After all, they’re bonafide Tolkien experts and I’m but an amateur when it comes to Middle-Earth.
To be clear, J.R.R. Tolkien’s daughter, Priscilla Tolkien, and various grandchildren are still members of the estate. However, they seem far more open to making movie and television deals than Christopher Tolkien…which means we could be seeing a lot more in the near future.
Hypothetically, this means that works like The Silmarillion could be optioned for television. It could also mean that a theme park could potentially buy the rights to build a Middle-Earth land, similar to what Universal Studios has done with J.K. Rowling’s work in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. For the first time in years, the Tolkien estate seems open to, well, making some money.
This doesn’t mean we’ll suddenly see a rush of Middle-Earth movies and shows, but it does suggest that the gates have been opened and things are on the table. And while I love Peter Jackson’s take on Lord of the Rings, I hope the estate continues to protect this world just enough. After all, Jackson’s sincere (and admittedly bombastic) work still feels in line with what’s on the page. Video games like Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, while fun, feel like they’re ripping Tolkien apart for spare parts and excuses to stab digital orcs.
