15 ms·

"Other opportunities include exploring additional movies based on iconic characters such as Gandalf, Aragorn, Gollum, Galadriel, Eowyn and other characters from

• danielrpa 4y ago
  Imagine a Gandalf origin story where he's running, jumping, punching and kicking orcs?
  • WithinReason 4y ago
    Sam: This is it. Frodo: This is what? Sam: If I take one more step, it'll be the farthest away from Tolkien I've ever been.
  • WalterBright 4y ago
    Don't forget swinging on wires! Maybe throw in Gandalf surfing over the shields of the orcs? Don't forget running across a bridge while it crumbles away behind him! Make sure to have the hungry monster signal its presence with roars and snarls before charging its prey.
  • suprjami 4y ago
    Except that isn't Gandalf's origin story. He's literally an immortal angel in human form, sent by the supreme creator to help mortals oppose Sauron. Gandalf intentionally chose the form of an old man to be humble.
    • akavel 4y ago
      "Our famous director delved deep into the ideas embodied in a mysterious wizard trope and reinvented them in a way easier to immerse in for modern audiences." Or something like that; don't let a couple nerd fans dictate some minutia of how to make films that earn actual monies, which we know much better! And we don't need read no books when there's extensive visual material already available!
      • aaaaaaaaaaab 4y ago
        Careful, you are gatekeeping!!! An inclusive and safe community should celebrate the Marvel-ification of the LotR universe ;-)
    • criley2 4y ago
      So you're saying it's well within realm of the lore for the immortal angel sent by the all-powerful diety to take the form of a young, fit hollywood celebrity and kick the face of orcs as part of a three part imax trilogy? Actually, and I don't want to annoy too many people, but with this context, I think they should go all out and make Gandalf team up with other angels in the form of butt kicking women, a fantasy charlies angels, where Charlie is the diety. I doubt angels in that lore have gender anyway.
      • bigDinosaur 4y ago
        The thing is, that could be a great trilogy. The issue is it just isn't Tolkien. Which would be fine, if they marketed it as something completely different. In that case though, it'd be pretty jarring to reconcile the Tolkien law with whatever crazy action they come up with and you'd have to wonder why they would bother even using Tolkien's material except, cynically, for name and brand recognition as a path to massive amounts of money.
      • shrubble 4y ago
        Instead of the Charlie's Angels speakerphone, giving out assignments for the team, you've got the palantir... and it's canon already!
    • sgt 4y ago
  • e12e 4y ago
    Well, there's some of that in Silmarillion I think?
    • p_l 4y ago
      Not visible - he probably took part in the last battle against Morgoth, but that was as one of the many, many Maia that also took part. Istari are sent after the events of Silmarillion end, after War of the Ring.
      • e12e 4y ago
        You're probably quite right. I might mis-remember and/or mix up with Unfinished Tales. https://www.silmarillionwritersguild.org/reference/characterofthemonth/gandalf.php https://www.silmarillionwritersguild.org/reference/character...
  • findalex 4y ago
    The prequel back-flipping Yoda version. This all sounds horrible but at least it will give RLM something to tear apart.
  • dal 4y ago
    "The Adventures of Young Gandalf"
    • tgv 4y ago
      Fantastic Wizards, and where to find them.
      • languageserver 4y ago
        Gandalf the gay, a 2022 commentary on the Mædieval fundamentalism still persisting in the West.
  • zeveb 4y ago
    Imagine a Gandalfina origin story where she’s running, jumping, punching and kicking orcs!
• WalterBright 4y ago
  Some remakes are better (Wizard of Oz, Ben Hur), most are worse (The Mysterious Island). But none destroy the books, so don't worry about it. Though I am surprised that with all the wealth of books out there for inspiration, how bad Hollywood movie plots are. I saw a preview of The Call of the Wild remake, where the sled dogs are racing away from an avalanche. The whole thing looks like a Disneyworld ride. That's not the theme or point of the story at all. Too bad.
  • findalex 4y ago
    > Some remakes are better (Wizard of Oz, Ben Hur) I'll have to disagree :). The only remake that was better to the original is John Carpenter's "The Thing".
    • mrob 4y ago
      Which are your favorite versions of The Wizard of Oz and Ben Hur? I've only seen the famous versions (1939 and 1959 respectively), which are both remakes.
      • findalex 4y ago
        Thanks for the correction - I was in fact talking about those two versions. I’m glad no one was putting the most recent Ben Hur dumpster fire over the classic.
    • gertrunde 4y ago
      "Man on Fire"? (The 1987 original is rarely seen).
    • croes 4y ago
      Scarface?
      • WalterBright 4y ago
        Yeah, that remake was better!
• Mindwipe 4y ago
  It must be said, that just because an IP management company would like to sell the rights to make some movies does not mean any studio is interested in buying them or funding such a title. Microsoft spent years "exploring" a Halo film. (It must be said, I think a studio might bite on a Gandalf film, but I doubt there's enough in any of the others.)
• philipov 4y ago
  Too late. There's already an upcoming video game following our Hero, Gollum, during the period before LotR where he wanders searching for the stolen Ring.
  • kennywinker 4y ago
    Actually? That sounds kinda fun. Gollum is a classic anti-hero.
• sneak 4y ago
  I’d rather a world where anyone and everyone is free to write stories about these characters as they wish. There is no sane framework for using state violence to enforce property laws over who is allowed to write stories over fictional characters. These characters don’t belong to anyone.
  • Asooka 4y ago
    What do you think about separating author's rights from copyright? That is, separate the right to distribute copies from the right to make derivatives?
  • simmerup 4y ago
    The problem is that Tolkien was an exceptionally good story teller with a clear idea of his universe. These remakes however get made by people being paid to spin out low tier content based on the IP that Tolkien painstakingly created. They’re coasting on his work and will tarnish his creation just to make a quick buck. It’s a shame. They should make their own IP instead, but of course that’s too risky in the pursuit of profit.
    • optimalsolver 4y ago
      I believe Tolkien envisioned people adding their own works to his mythology. At least that's what I remember from reading his biography some years back.
      • DocTomoe 4y ago
        Well, yes, and no. > In 1966 a fan of his stories wrote to him detailing a 'sequel' to The Lord of the Rings that he planned to write. Tolkien forwarded the letter to his publisher denouncing 'this young ass' for his 'impertinent contribution to my troubles' and asking for their lawyers to write a suitably-worded letter refusing permission. [1] I can't help but wonder if Tolkien, if he was alive today, would think of modern writers "working with his material" in similar terms.
  • permo-w 4y ago
• deergomoo 4y ago
  I hate this trend of endless franchises. I understand the risk factor of new, untested stories for something as expensive as a movie or video game, but christ it’s as dull as it is disheartening to see everything spun out to complete saturation. Not to mention that, when you keep something going forever, it will eventually turn to shit. I dislike long running TV shows for the same reason: give me two or three seasons of your best, not six seasons where I’m questioning why I’m still watching between the premiere and finale of each.
  • deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  • mjevans 4y ago
    Questioning each new season is probably related to shows that only have a budget, staff, and cast allocated season by season, which forces the writers to start and stop any ongoing plots within that single season timeframe. I started to see that pattern and came to hate a majority of made for TV shows that should have been something far more grand than their fetters allowed.
  • sakex 4y ago
    The fact you are still watching despite not knowing why is what keeps them going.
  • the_only_law 4y ago
    Unfortunately, the apparently make money, so they’ll keep coming. If you’re gonna do a franchise, at least do something that doesn’t have already widely successful media. Not franchises, but I’m also sick of remakes that are complete total ass. I came across the “new” Hawaii 5-0 on TV and was actually livid at how they ruined that series. Every character felt like a douchebag, and they really put effort into making it as corny as possible.
  • oliwarner 4y ago
    But we celebrate a multiverse of possibilities and reimaginings in the comic world. They're explained but they are essentially just a rewrite, a different artist, a different vision. I'm not sure where you draw the line. Some of my favourite LotR and Star Wars content wasn't what people would consider the main event, so if it meant not being able to have things like KotOR or various Middle Earth games, I'd rather we didn't draw a line at all. I know, I'm focussing on the good, and there is some absolute trash out there... But I think both sides are important to consider before banning rewrites and spin-offs.
• Asooka 4y ago
  Shadow of Mordor was pretty great. But executives seem to be swayed too much by people who wish to make yet another Marvel movie with a political message pushing values that were adopted by the majority back in the '70s. There are many, many stories that can be written both in the past of Tolkien's trilogy (i.e. adapt the Silmarillion and other myths), or in the future - how does the Shire develop? What about the kingdoms of men? You can have an entire A Song of Ice and Fire epic about the intrigues between kingdoms after the elves leave. Or a much smaller adventure about hobbits from Bagend going where they shouldn't - trespassing in Tom Bombadil's domain, searching for treasure, with most of them dying for really pissing off old Tom, delivering the message that nature should be respected, as it is not evil, nor good, but simply exists for itself. Or check out the highest rated fanfiction, pay the author a few hundred thousand and adapt that. It will be cheaper and safer than trying to turn Middle Earth into something it is not.
  • iamacyborg 4y ago
    Shadow of Mordor is a very good game, but it would be just as good if it weren’t using the LotR IP. The IP helps with the marketing efforts, but that’s about it.
• throwaway4aday 4y ago
  I understand that there's a 99% chance that they'll cock this up if they do it but if, somehow by the grace of God, they actually stuck to canon and made a movie that the fans really wanted to see it would probably be fine if not actually a wonderful addition to the story of Middle-earth. A lot of stars would have to align to make this happen though, you'd need a director who was both a visionary and a dedicated fan, green lights and a hands off approach from studio execs, a very competent producer who could shepherd the film through and act as a balancing force for the director to make sure that the end result was entertaining and internally consistent. Nothing short of a miracle really. Probably less than 1% chance of that happening today.