The original “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy star Elijah Wood has weighed in on Warner Bros. Pictures’ plan to develop more “The Lord of the Rings” movies.
Announced in late February, Warners had come to a multi-year deal with rights holders Embracer Group AB that allows them to develop the new films (not the TV rights which Amazon holds).
The announcement is part of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s attempts to get Warners back to the glory days of the 2000s when the studio had multiple major franchises powering its revenues.
In a new interview with GQ Magazine, the new 42-year-old Wood is both supportive and cautious:
“I’m fascinated, and I’m excited. I hope it’s good. I’m surprised – I don’t know why I’m surprised because of course there would be more movies. Obviously, at the core of that is a desire to make a lot of money. It’s not that a bunch of executives are like, ‘Let’s make really awesome art.’ And again, not begrudging anybody because, of course, it is commerce. But great art can come from commerce. So those two things are not mutually exclusive.
But Lord of the Rings didn’t come out of that place. It came out of a passion for these books and want to see them realized. And I hope that that is ultimately what will drive everything forward with whatever these subsequent movies are. I just hope that it’s the same motivating factor at its core, whenever they hire a screenwriter and a filmmaker – that it is with reverence for Tolkien’s material and enthusiasm to explore it.”
Wood, who has been out promoting Showtime’s “Yellowjackets” series, has previously indicated he would be up for reprising his iconic role as Frodo Baggins if there are more films. Jackson’s original “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy earned $2.9 billion at the global box office and won 17 Oscars in total.
Jackson and his partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens have previously released a statement indicating they’ve been “kept in the loop every step of the way” and are expected to speak further with Warner Bros. Discovery in the near future.
