Earlier this year news came that the rights for "everything Tolkien" (i.e. Middle-earth Enterprises, the "box" created by Saul Zaentz to manage these rights) were up for sale. That Amazon would have been the buyer was considered a given. This didn't happen. While now there is a lot of confusion about what who can do, there are some hot takes - including for the gaming world.
- The Embracer Group is a Swedish "umbrella" company. Among their subsidiaries we have Asmodeus (the owners, among other things, of Fantasy Flights Games) and a lot of videogame companies.
- They can now do everything based on Tolkien: movies, TV shows, comics, games, role-playing games, videogames, even theme parks. They can also license these rights to third parts. The rights include all the writings of Tolkien - including his shopping lists I guess.
- That Amazon wasn't the buyer is astounding. Identity politics aside, one of the troubles "The Rings of Power" is having is that Amazon owns the rights to whatever is told about the Second Age in The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and the appendixes. Amazon could have said "tell me what the highest offer is and I'll double it." They could have re-done The Lord of the Rings for streaming (beside doing the next four seasons of TRoP with finally the rights on The Silmarillion and the Unfinished Tales). But they didn't. Is this a sign that Amazon lost confidence in their ability to do Tolkien? For sure it is not a good sign, also because...
- Embracer made eight acquisitions at the same time so it is impossible to know what they spent for Middle-earth Enterprises. However, it is known that they spent about $770-$780 millions for all eight. Considering that MEE is the crown jewel, it is realistic to assume that the biggest check went there. No matter what, when the first rumbles about the rights sale were heard, they were valued $2 billions. This was not a rumor but the official figure put out by the Saul Zaentz Company
- Embracer doesn't own the Lord of the Rings. This is a common misconception. They now own the rights to adapt it (and all other writings by Tolkien) in various media. Existing contracts (like The Rings of Power, Warner's War of the Rohirrim or videogame licenses) remain valid - Embracer just inherited them. There are already talks, however, about doing either movies or shows based on specific characters, like a young Aragorn or what Gandalf did before The Lord of the Rings. Per press release:
"Other opportunities include exploring additional movies based on iconic characters such as Gandalf, Aragorn, Gollum, Galadriel, Eowyn and other characters from the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien, and continue to provide new opportunities for fans to explore this fictive world through merchandising and other experiences."
...So, basically we will have the TEU - Tolkien Expanded Universe.
- It is unclear when this contract will be valid. To be clearer, sometimes you buy the rights to something and immediately you can start doing things with the IP. Some other times you can start, let's say, after two years. This because the previous owner wants to put out the final movies/shows/games before someone else starts doing his own thing. Doing "The Silmarillion" with full access to Tolkien writing while Amazon gasps for air would be too fun for words. We can only wait.