The Lord of the Rings trilogy co-writer Philippa Boyens addresses the “rumored rivalry” with Amazon’s The Rings of Power TV show. Based on the fantasy novels by J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson’s first movie in his hit trilogy was released in 2001, with the final installment arriving in 2003. Jackson, Boyens, and co-writer Fran Walsh, who reunited for The Hobbit trilogy, now serve as the brain trust behind the movie arm of the Lord of the Rings franchise, which includes The War of the Rohirrim anime and Andy Serkis’ upcoming The Hunt for Gollum.
During a recent interview with GamesRadar+, Boyens is asked about the “rumored rivalry” that exists between the movie arm of the Lord of the Rings franchise and Prime Video’s The Rings of Power, which just recently concluded its sophomore outing. According to Boyens, no such rivalry exists, and she clearly believes that there’s plenty of room in Middle-earth for different interpretations. Check out her comment below:
“I have this belief and I hope it’s true that in terms of The Rings of Power, I think being able to expand upon the world is only a good thing. I particularly love that particular piece of Middle-earth history. Some people seem to think there is a rivalry or conflict between the projects, but there is absolutely not and I don’t believe there is from their part either. They should complement each other. Let’s have more Tolkien, can you ever have too much?”
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Showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne recently confirmed to ScreenRant that The Rings of Power season 3 is already in the works. The show is eyeing five seasons in total to tell its story, and there’s seemingly been no change in plan following season 2. These five seasons will play out as new Lord of the Rings movies come out, with The Hunt for Gollum currently eying a 2026 release.
Boyens also recently teased that more movies could arrive after The Hunt for Gollum‘s release, including more standalone adventures, as well as another “epic” Lord of the Rings trilogy. Clearly, then, there’s potentially a whole lot of Tolkien content on the horizon, and new seasons of The Rings of Power could be arriving as audiences also return to Jackson’s take on Middle-earth. Boyens herself doesn’t seem to think audiences can have “ever have too much” Lord of the Rings, and that is now set to be tested over the next decade.
If The Rings of Power season 3 goes into production early next year, it could release on Prime Video in 2026.
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It’s not surprising that there’s no rivalry between the movie arm of the Lord of the Rings franchise and The Rings of Power. The Prime Video show presents a different version of Middle-earth with a different creative team, and it exists separately from The War of the Rohirrim and The Hunt for Gollum.
That being said, it does seem like there’s the potential for Lord of the Rings franchise fatigue moving forward. This fatigue is only more likely to develop if the projects themselves don’t end up being well-received. The War of the Rohirrim reviews, for example, are somewhat lukewarm, and if The Hunt for Gollum fares the same, there could be relatively little enthusiasm for The Lord of the Rings‘ on-screen future.
