As reported by Variety, the Saul Zaentz Co is selling its Tolkien rights, which includes films, games, TV shows over eight episodes, live events, merchandise, and theme parks based on The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and other Tolkien properties. The rights are set to fetch upwards of $2bn. The Saul Zaentz Co was set up by producer Saul Zaentz who died back in 2017. He was responsible for Oscar-winning films like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Amadeus and The English Patient. The Lord of the Rings rights are a bit of a minefield, with Warner Bros maintaining some film development rights through its ownership of New Line Cinema - the production company behind Peter Jackson’s celebrated films. For now, there’s The Lord of the Rings: Gollum in the works from Daedalic Entertainment. The game is a partnership between the German studio and Middle-earth Enterprises who own the literary rights to Tolkien’s work.
