Lord of the Rings Universe Thread

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Triggermv

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Beings how I've started multiple ongoing threads on CF for many of my nerdom passions (MCU, DCEU, Star Wars, Star Trek... etc), which have turned out to be quite fun discussion groups, I figured it was about time to start a new thread related to a separate favorite world of mine, Lord of the Rings. While the both the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movie trilogies are a thing of the past, we now have an upcoming high-budget TV series being produced right now by Amazon on the way, which takes place many years prior to both movie trilogies. It will also be the first seemingly to do some delving outside of Tolkiens original writings as well. Anyway, I hope this will be the place for anything Lord of the Rings related moving forward, so please join in with me if you also share the passion. To kick things off, theonering.net just dropped a show synopsis for the upcoming series to get us excited. Feel free to comment.


Amazon Studios’ forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.
 

CascadeClone

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They better not Hobbit this up, that's all I can say.

If they turn the Silmarilillion into that level of mindless garbage it would be such a waste. Especially when the seasonal format would work so well with the vastly different time periods in the book. I am hoping for the highest of highs, but it could be just the worst disappointment since, well, The Hobbit "trilogy".
 

Triggermv

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As a good first follow-up, I did just recently pick up both The Hobbit Trilogy and Lord of the Rings Trilogy (both theatrical and extended) on 4K UHD blu ray. Both were finally just released only a few months ago and due to demand have been sold out at differing times. I'm planning on watching both of these very soon and can't wait.
 

Triggermv

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They better not Hobbit this up, that's all I can say.

If they turn the Silmarilillion into that level of mindless garbage it would be such a waste. Especially when the seasonal format would work so well with the vastly different time periods in the book. I am hoping for the highest of highs, but it could be just the worst disappointment since, well, The Hobbit "trilogy".

I get it. I'm not the biggest Hobbit trilogy fan myself, but that doesn't also mean there isn't stuff in there I still quite enjoyed, most of which being in the first film.
 

mapnerd

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I don't think the Hobbit trilogy was terrible. It just wasn't LOTR good. It has some good characters and good action. My first thought was 'this could have been 2 movies'. But then I realized that it's just great to spend as much time in Tolkien's world as possible. I'm cautiously optimistic about this new series.
 

Entropy

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I don't know how far back they plan on reaching, but The Silmarillion is an extraordinary book. I also just finished reading The Children of Hurin.
Agree, but it is far more dense than the rest of the LOTR series.
More like a reference guide than standard story telling prose (at least that was my interpretation).
There are some exciting and excellent story frameworks in there, and with the right writing and visuals team, they could make an amazing adaptation.
 

dawgpound

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The Hobbit should have been two movies, not three so it made it drag on FOREVER. The original trilogy is still awesome even if the CGI is a little dated now. I am super pumped for this Amazon series
 
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CascadeClone

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I don't think the Hobbit trilogy was terrible.

Agree to disagree :)

My biggest problem is they changed the whole tone of the story. What is supposed to feel like your grandfather telling you a story when you were a kid, got changed into a action-fest war epic with goofiness that doesn't fit a war epic. That's just not what it is meant to be. Maybe it is just be, getting old, nostalgic and romantic.

Imagine taking Princess Bride and making it feel like Speed 2.
 

JimDogRock

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The trilogy has been creeping towards the top of my reading list. I haven't read them since the movies were in theaters almost 20 years ago now.

Also, the wife and I have been sitting down for movie nights every so often. I threw out the thought that I'd like to revisit the LOTR trilogy at some point. She's never seen any of them, but did agree to give the first one a chance.

I've only seen the theatrical release and would like to see the extended/director's cut.
But what version do you think would be the more likely for her to enjoy?
 

CascadeClone

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I don't know how far back they plan on reaching, but The Silmarillion is an extraordinary book. I also just finished reading The Children of Hurin.

I read Hobbit in 3rd grade, and LOTR shortly after. I tried Silmarillion several times but never could get past the first chapter or two until I was probably 30. Once I figured out it was sorta half Old Testament and half Illiad, then it made sense. Then I read it again and was absolutely blown away.
 

Triggermv

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The trilogy has been creeping towards the top of my reading list. I haven't read them since the movies were in theaters almost 20 years ago now.

Also, the wife and I have been sitting down for movie nights every so often. I threw out the thought that I'd like to revisit the LOTR trilogy at some point. She's never seen any of them, but did agree to give the first one a chance.

I've only seen the theatrical release and would like to see the extended/director's cut.
But what version do you think would be the more likely for her to enjoy?

Hard to say. Inevitably, the extended cuts of LOTR trilogy have lots of additional good stuff, but really make what was already long movies only longer. Therefore, its more a matter of how much time she is willing to indulge in the series. As for the Hobbit extended editions, that would be the tougher one to sell you on beings how the movies themselves are already way too long in the first place, so the extended editions only make them longer. Therefore, I might recommend theatrical Hobbit and extended LOTR.
 

helechopper

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I've been waiting in anticipation of this shows release...my whole life really. Popular culture has finally caught up with what we've known for a very long time: J. R. R. Tolkein has written the best story of all time. It will be nice to see it fleshed out.

My hope is that it will be as good as Game of Thrones, not in tone, but in production value and acting. If the writing is on par with Martin's, then look out!
 

helechopper

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Hard to say. Inevitably, the extended cuts of LOTR trilogy have lots of additional good stuff, but really make what was already long movies only longer.

Go extended or go home...errr...you're probably already home if you're watching them, so just go extended! (i love the director and actor cometary while watching)
 
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Triggermv

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Go extended or go home...errr...you're probably already home if you're watching them, so just go extended! (i love the director and actor cometary while watching)

You are probably right. Just go extended for both and due to the massive length, just watch them all more like you would a season of GOT rather than a series of movies. Ultimately, extended editions for all LOTR movies are about 3 1/2 hours while the extended editions of The Hobbit movies are about 3 hours. Add them all together and you get close to 20 hours of movie, which essentially equates out to a long season of television.
 

mfelske

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A little off topic, but after watching The Boys, I looked up Karl Urban to see what else he had been in. Kind of blew my mind that he played Eomer in the LOTR movies. Did not recognize him at all.
 
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