44 Comments
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Tom Watson's avatar

I know what it is you want of me, but I will not bring further disappointment to my experience of Tolkien adaptations. I will not risk open optimism.

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JRR Jokien's avatar

Open optimism is upon you, whether you would risk it or not!

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⚡Thalia The Comedy Muse⚡'s avatar

I'm not gonna lie, I thought you were joking with the title. The Hunt for Gollum sounds like a satire article I would write.

Reminds me of Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money.

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JRR Jokien's avatar

to be fair, it *is* a working title, but it's still what they went with in the announcement lol

yeah, exactly! "Merchandising!"

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Bridget Riley's avatar

I thought it was satirical at first too!

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Samantha Coté's avatar

I appreciate your good attitude. Someone had to have one 😅

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JRR Jokien's avatar

🫡

Haha, yeah I try to be open and give things a chance whenever possible!

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Samantha Coté's avatar

I will try to be like you. I haven’t watched Rings of Power though, because I am too scared. 😅

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Rebecca J. Gomez's avatar

I feel a little bit like I did when I heard they were turning The Hobbit into a trilogy. I remember thinking “But whyyyy?” I looked forward to watching it, but was skeptical.

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JRR Jokien's avatar

Yeah, I remember hearing that news that they were doing a trilogy instead of two being one of my first "uh-oh" moments with those movies

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Cindy Akins's avatar

Yes, it’s faster to read the book than watch the movies with The Hobbit.

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Jenn's avatar

“Marvelification of Middle Earth” is exactly what this feels like, though I do love Serkis.

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Shane Elliott's avatar

I love Andy Serkis too. His involvement is the only thing that gives me hope for this film.

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Jenn's avatar

I mean...he played Screwtape in a Focus on the Family radio theatre recording of The Screwtape Letters and he was the entire reason I bought that thing...and it was worth it.

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Michael S. Atkinson's avatar

I *like* Marvel and I agree with this concept

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Jenn's avatar

Oh don't get me wrong. I do, too! I just think they've overdone it.

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Michael S. Atkinson's avatar

I do agree there; honestly the whole thing's gone adrift since Endgame.

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Jenn's avatar

Exactly. Then again, when you name something "Endgame" and then you don't end it...I guess we might've expected that. It's a gift to know when to wrap up a story.

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Ethan Pyle's avatar

I'm very skeptical.

While I have watched only the first three episodes of Rings of Power and so don't have much of an opinion on that adaptation, The Hobbit films were a miserable failure, and I am worried further film adaptations will be more of the same.

What I am most worried about is that writers and directors will use Tolkien's world as a platform from which to broadcast their own social and political values, whether or not those values were ever shared by Tolkien himself or are present in the wonderful world he created. I have seen this happen more and more in the world of Tolkien scholarship, and it feels almost inevitable that it will happen with further film adaptations.

It also feels antithetical to Tolkien's entire ethos that his stories would be commodified in this way by a sprawling industry for the enrichment of studio executives.

I will most likely not be watching this adaptation.

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Joseph L. Wiess's avatar

Please, oh please, don't run middle earth into the ground.

There are other tales you can tell. There's Beren and Luthien. There's the story of Earindil. There's lore that's never existed outside the books. Heck, you can even use Middle earth to write something brand new. You don't have to use Tolkiens characters. The possibilities are endless. You don't have to write about the known characters.

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Richard Glover's avatar

I would rather see the HoME material made the a half thought out prequel without Viggo as Aragorn. But maybe Fassbender will play Gandalf and there will be some remarkable casting. Andy in the directors chair gives me some hope, but I wish they would just get serious about the many other FINISHED stories instead of making up their own stuff.

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Franklin Anderson's avatar

I'm not much of a fan of the movies. They say more and less than Tolkien's pen. But perhaps it is best not to have one film (or trilogy) to rule them all, and in the darkness bind them.

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Cindy Marette's avatar

Absolutely agree with your concerns. While the LOTR trilogy was fantastic (though imperfect as I’m a “book first” person), the Hobbit movies were quite the disappointment for me.

I felt the Rings of Power were fine, and maybe even more than fine… the 2nd season should even be better. Until the creative makers are granted access to the Silmarillion, there will be just a Marvelization of the same material. I’m not even convinced the Silmarillion should be anything more than the gorgeous, grand, nearly holy treasure it is. Small ‘h’ holy lest someone gets concerned, as they tend to these days…

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MaryAnn McKibben Dana's avatar

Agree with your cautious optimism. Curious how you felt about Rings of Power! We really enjoyed it as a distinct storytelling experience, albeit with some overlapping characters eg Elrond, Galadriel and Hot Sauron.

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Shane Elliott's avatar

I haven't checked that out yet, but just hearing Hot Sauron makes me want to put it on this instant! How hot could he be? That sentence has intrigued me more than any marketing they ever put out.

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MaryAnn McKibben Dana's avatar

I probably owe you an apology, internet stranger, because the character is introduced as if there’s some suspense as to who he is, or who he will turn out to be… but as we watched, it seemed obvious. Which didn’t detract from our enjoyment of the show!

But yeah, it’s definitely a “look fairer feel fouler” dynamic with that one.

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RJ Kayser's avatar

I'm excited whenever anything new LOTR related comes out!

I know they take a lot of liberties in creating the stories to be more visually appealing for film but it doesn't bother me. The nostalgia alone is worth the price of admission for me.

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Dee's avatar

Hmm, I enjoyed your article. I hadn’t considered that angle, having been initially reassured by the involvement of Jackson, Boyens etc. Your point regarding them having to make shit up is so true, as evidenced by The Hobbit movies 😏

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RetroMythologist's avatar

I have ZERO interest in any more modern adaptations of Tolkien.

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Maddie Dobrowski's avatar

The name sounds odd and I agree with you: barely any source material there. I’m hoping that it won’t be another rings of power…. Sometimes it’s okay to say, “Hey we did a great job on those first three movies, let’s leave it be!”

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Shane Elliott's avatar

I am cautiously excited. It is exciting to hear that LOTR is back. I also love Andy Serkis. I think him being the director is a great move. The only thing I am worried about is WB. It is not just that they will get their grubby little paws into it. It is because, as a company, they seem desperate right now. Having few hits and constantly losing money each year is making them try and figure out what franchises they can make money off of. So I hope they don't just make a cash grab because they need to raise their bottom line.

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Jezz Lundkvist's avatar

I looking forward to it. Because they did left it out in the movies. Its a perfect fit, what happen when Gandalf left the Shire.

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