Lord Of The Rings Aiming To Become A "Star Wars-Like Franchise," But There Are No Scripts Yet - Report

WB/New Line recently announced plans to make additional The Lord of the Rings movies, and now it's come to light that the companies are hoping to create a "Star Wars-like franchise" out of LOTR.

A source told The Hollywood Reporter that, "Warner Bros. hopes to turn LOTR into a Star Wars-like franchise." That's all the report had to say about that, but the suggestion would be that WB believes it can grow and expand LOTR to become an even more gigantic series than it already is.

Star Wars, for example, includes movies, TV shows, and countless other adaptations and merchandising. For what it's worth, LOTR does a lot of those same things already.

The THR report also mentioned that it's still very early days for any new LOTR movies, claiming "there are no scripts yet."

Executives have said these movies--whatever they turn out to be--will not be remakes or retread ground already covered by Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.

"For all the scope and detail lovingly packed into the two trilogies, the vast, complex and dazzling universe dreamed up by J.R.R. Tolkien remains largely unexplored on film. The opportunity to invite fans deeper into the cinematic world of Middle-earth is an honor, and we are excited to partner with Middle-earth Enterprises and Embracer on this adventure," WB said.

A key difference between The Rings of Power and the new films from WB/New Line is that Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens--the Oscar-winning trio behind The Lord of the Rings films--have been briefed and are in discussions with WB/New Line about the new projects. They were left out of participation with The Rings of Power.

One Lord of the Rings film from Warner Bros. and New Line is already in production. The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is an animated film about one of the legendary kings of Rohan, and is set 183 before the events of the original films, featuring Brian Cox and Mirando Otto as voice actors.

When Embracer acquired the film rights, it floated films about Gandalf, Aragorn, Galadriel, and Eowyn as potential, future projects. Whether or not any of these ideas get made into films is unknown.

As for the Lord of the Rings video game series, there are five new games set for release in the next two years, including The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, Return to Moria, Heroes of Middle-earth, and more.