THE Lord of the Rings The franchise is among the most criticized when it comes to changes from book to screen, but Perfect TV would avoid this completely. Amazon The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has been especially divisive, as the series has had no choice but to significantly condense the Second Age timeline. Even Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings films were forced to cut decades from the story to make it work on screen. However, there is one possible TV show idea that would actually benefit from avoiding significant timeline cuts.
Although Frodo’s journey with the One Ring is the main story of the Lord of the Rings franchise, it occupies a small part of the complete legendary that author JRR Tolkien developed. Recently, More Middle Earth stories began to be developed for the screen. Warner Bros and New Line Cinema have The Lord of the Ring: War of the Rohirrim on the way, which is set around 200 years before the War of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum and other projects are also underway. Still, even combined with Rings of Powerthese barely cover the breadth of Tolkien’s stories.
A TV show about the history of Middle Earth could cover dozens of Tolkien stories
From Creation to the Silmarils and beyond
Tolkien’s timeline covers tens of thousands of years, beginning with the creation of the universe and running through Frodo’s final journey to the Undying Lands. The author has spent his life writing dozens of stories set in this world, and Hollywood has barely scratched the surface in terms of adaptations. One potential and efficient way to change this would be with a “History of Middle-earth” TV show, which begin with the Ainulindalë (Song of the Ainur, or the creation of the universe) and continue through the many important stories of each era of the existence of this fantasy universe.
This would allow all of the popular stories that fans have been begging for to finally make it to the small screen. The fall of Melkor, his friendship with Ungoliant, the destruction of the Two Trees of Valinor, and the theft of the Silmarils could all make up a season. The War of Wrath, the story of Beren and Lúthien, and the heroic journey of Eärendil and Elwing could constitute another. The Children of Húrin would be a particularly moving chapter, given the immense tragedy of this story. It could all be brought to the screen in a TV show, and if approached correctly, there would be no need to change the schedule.
An anthology approach would make condensing the Middle Earth timeline unnecessary
The series could seamlessly jump in time to new stories and characters
Film adaptations have no choice but to condense the timeline, as the shorter format makes an expansive story impossible. For this reason, TV shows are highly beneficial for complex fantasy adaptations. That was the only way the story Rings of Power it could have worked, but Prime Video was still forced to condense thousands of years into a few decades. This is due to the combination of immortal and mortal characters in Tolkien’s Legendarium. I had Rings of Power had been faithful to Tolkien’s timeline, focusing on any human characters would have been impossible.
Some immortal characters might be carried over from season to season, but for the most part, new mortals would be introduced with each new batch of episodes.
A History of Middle Earth series could avoid this if it were more like an anthology. Each season can focus on a new story and character set. Some immortal characters might be carried over from season to season, but for the most part, new mortals would be introduced with each new batch of episodes. This would allow for an exciting rotation of actors and provide something extra for audiences to look forward to from season to season. A new installment would essentially be an entirely new show set in the same world and featuring a handful of familiar faces.
Legal rights would be the biggest obstacle to a major Middle-earth TV show
Not all of Tolkien’s stories can be adapted for the screen (yet)
As exciting as a History of Middle Earth anthology series would be, currently not possible. Tolkien himself sold the film and TV rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit while he was still alive, but his estate retains the rights to The Silmarillion and other works that were published only after the author’s death. These books were published under the guidance of Christopher Tolkien, JRR’s son, who was vehemently against screen adaptations and therefore firmly held these rights. Decades later, most of the First Age cannot legally be brought to the screen.
However, there is some indication that this could change. Amazon was able to secure rights to certain names and subjects that should have been beyond its reach to Rings of Power. This suggests that the company has reached some agreement with Tolkien’s estate regarding partial rights. How the Lord of the Rings franchise continues to expand and hopefully prove that screen adaptations would be treated with respect, other exceptions could be made. Maybe not so soon, but a broad TV show based on the complete history of Middle Earth could one day become a possibility.