Middle-earth Cinematic Universe Is A Possibility Thanks To Embracer Deal
Embracer Group recently caused a splash after announcing the purchase of Middle-earth Enterprises, in a deal that could have wide implications for the future of media that surrounds the use of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Purchased from The Saul Zaentz Company, the deal gives the Swedish conglomerate wide-ranging rights.
Embracer will have worldwide rights to movies, video games, board games, merchandising, theme parks, and stage productions related to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Speaking to TheGamer, legal experts suggested the deal could lead to a future where something resembling a Middle-earth Cinematic Universe could come into being.
Related: Lawyers Explain Exactly What The Embracer Acquisition Means For Middle-earth
Asked if Embracer could develop such a thing, based on its stated "IP-driven transmedia strategy", corporate and commercial lawyer and partner at Simkins Stuart Smith said it could be very possible. "It certainly sounds like this is Embracer's ambition, given the prominence of the reference to movies based on LotR characters in the press release," he said, referring to Embracer's touting of feature films based on various characters such as Gandalf and Aragorn among others.
"It remains to be seen how successful this will be however," he continued. "This deal leaves the rights in an even more fragmented place, as The LotR and The Hobbit adaptation rights are now owned by a business that can, and likely wants to, use them directly itself, but which doesn't have the rights to the most famous visual interpretations of those stories".
René Otto, a video games lawyer at Van lersel Luchtman, believes the Embracer deal should not have any impact on currently announced games
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