Middle-earth is having a moment. Projects and adaptations are popping up all over the place. Warner Bros. has multiple Tolkienian irons in the fire. Prime Video is also heavily invested in the author’s world through its “The Rings of Power” streaming series, which recently wrapped up a lore-rich season 2. While the streamer’s press releases indicate that many people are watching the show, one individual is decidedly not amongst them: Philippa Boyens. Boyens was a screenwriter for Peter Jackson’s iconic trilogy, and she is actively involved in upcoming WB projects in that area of the fantasy landscape, which directly influenced her reason to avoid “Rings of Power” — at least for the time being.

“I haven’t watched it, and I’ve done that quite deliberately because I’m not about to pass judgment on anybody else’s attempt to go back into that world,” Boyens explained to Empire Magazine. Her initial reason focused on the complexity of Middle-earth storytelling. She said that Tolkien created a complex world and that makes adaptive storytelling challenging. From there, she pulled back the curtain further, revealing a deeper motivation for avoiding the Prime Video series: “But the real reason to stay away is because we don’t want any cross-contamination,” she said. “I don’t want to feel that it has influenced our storytelling.” Boyens buttoned up the statement by saying that she hopes the showrunners do a brilliant job and that the idea of a Second Age show is a fantastic one. “Hopefully one day I will watch it,” she concluded. “I just need to get my own arse out of Middle-earth first!”

Boyens is busy in Middle-earth at the moment

Warner Bros
Boyens’ triumphant career in fantasy filmmaking started over two decades ago when she helped with the screenplay for the original “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. She returned with Jackson and company to help pen the screenplay for “The Hobbit” trilogy that followed a decade later. After that, things were fairly quiet until news broke that she was returning to Middle-earth once again, not just for one, but for three upcoming Warner Bros. films.

The veteran writer helped write the story for the highly anticipated “The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim” anime film, which is scheduled for release this December. She is also involved in the upcoming movie currently titled “The Hunt for Gollum,” and recently clarified that there is another, separate unconfirmed Middle-earth film in the works at the studio.

The fact that Boyens is attached to so many projects at once makes her motivation for avoiding Prime Video’s series perfectly reasonable. The legal rights behind the two projects are already a delicate matter. Peter Jackson has gone on record saying that when Prime Video approached him to help with their project, he never received scripts. In response to the accusation that they ghosted him, Amazon responded with the statement, “In pursuing the rights for our show, we were obligated to keep the series distinct and separate from the films.” If the two studios are studiously avoiding copying one another, it’s wise to avoid that cross-contamination factor. Here’s hoping Boyens does enjoy the show once she finally gets around to watching it.