Saturday, November 4, 2017

Amazon is in Talks to Create a Lords of the Rings Series: Whadda Ya Think?


This sounds interesting. Jeff Bezos is apparently leading the charge to bring this home to Amazon. No deal has been done yet.

What brought this about? I'd read early that Amazon pretty much showed their producers and writers of original content, the door. Thanks, but no thanks. Amazon suggested it wants to get away from niche storytelling and find itself a Game of Thrones. Which is great, love me some GoT. But I love series that focus on the minutiae of a sub-culture. I hope they continue with those stories also.

But sometimes when you chase the dragon you get burned.

I say this in part because I think Peter Jackson's movie trilogy did an excellent job. He cut out most of the singing and the poetry, so for that he has my highest respect and thanks. The story has been told at a high quality. I know its been 16 years since the Fellowship of the Ring movie, but it is still fresh in my mind. Does this need to be told again? My opinion is no. Not right now. With the retelling there will be the inevitable comparison not only to the original books, but to Jackon's movies. And some may compare them to the cartoon series.

I like the idea that Amazon is hoping to fill the massive hole that GoT will leave behind when it concludes. Amazon wants to have one of those shows where people have parties when it airs. The show is an event.

Just because I don't think the story needs to be told again, doesn't mean I wouldn't watch it when it came on. Hell yeah I would. But I would prefer a new story. A new series, preferable not Shanara. Oh wait, that was also done. Please never do that one again. There are soooo many good books out there, I would think they could land one of those and create their own next event show.

I would LOVE to see a series done for the Thieves World books. That series would have everything they are looking for. A cast of fantastic characters a mile long. Interesting story plots. And it would be new ground. I think that's what most people want. I know there a ton of fans of LotR that would gobble up another version, but as much as I like a cover band, 99 times out of 100 the original is better.


If you have an opinion of Amazon producing a LotR series please comment. Or if you have a series you'd rather see them produce please add it below. It might be something I haven't heard of and would love to read.

8 comments:

  1. You're right. There are other books out there from which they can draw inspiration. It's too soon to redo LotR.

    ReplyDelete
  2. How about Heinlein's Future History series? Or Azimov's Foundation? Bush's Cities in Flight? All of them are epic hard science fiction, a genre that rarely sees the screen. Which probably is why they won't take my advice.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I remember that day.
    Thanks for cleaning the closet for me.
    You really write amazing adventures.
    Keep it up.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I was saying just that elsewhere (on Facebook). Thieves' World would be excellent. Also Amber, Tanith Lee's Tales of the Flat Earth, Pern, a reboot of Gormenghast, Earthsea (done right instead of that unfortunate version), or maybe Horseclans.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yeah, I'd definitely love to see a Thieve's World series.

    LotR? I'm a huge fan of the books (lost count somewhere after my ninth or tenth reading), and I loved the movies, but I think it's way too soon for a redo. I'm also not sure the story would lend itself well to a series adaptation (it *could* be done but I don't think it's the ideal format).

    ReplyDelete
  6. As a huge LOTR fan...No. The movies did a truly amazing job and there's very little more to build upon that would be worth the public consumption. Tap a new keg, don't lick the mold out of the old one.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thieves World or Wild Cards would be good. Wild Cards has George R.R. Martin's name attached so it could even be plausible. What would really make me happy would be the Myth Adventures series.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'd love to see the Riftwar Saga, et al, by Raymond E. Feist (and Janny Wurts). There are so many stories to tell in Midkemia and Kelewan: court intrigue, epic battles, and world-shattering events. And best of all, the books are already written!

    ReplyDelete