Things are about to get interesting in the land of Middle Earth. According to Variety, Zaentz Co. is currently looking to sell off its holdings on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit franchises. This includes movie, merchandising, gaming, and live event rights!

The Saul Zaentz Company is the parent company of Middle-Earth Enterprises. The company was formed shortly after J.R.R. Tolkien sold the rights in 1976. Middle-earth Enterprises (originally called Tolkien Enterprises) produced the 1978 adaptation of The Lord of the Rings directed by Ralph Bakshi. From 2001-2003 they went on to produce the infamous Lord of the Rings trilogy directed by Peter Jackson. Throughout the years, the company has had a hand in distribution, producing, and merchandising of the franchise.

Zaentz Co. has already hired ACF Investment Bank to handle the sale. Bankers will be making rounds in Hollywood to see who will be interested in the franchise. The properties are projected to bring in at least $2 billion based on the popularity and quality of the IP.

The timing for this announcement has already brought curiosity among fans. Amazon is preparing for the grand premiere of its highly anticipated, mega-sized budget TV series Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The show is slated to premiere on September 2nd. Amazon is most definitely a prime candidate to grab additional rights still held by Zaentz.

The Precious Stories of Middle Earth

Lord of the Rings TV Series Will Bring Back Beloved Characters

Currently, Zaentz holds the rights to pursue The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit properties in exploits like film, video games, merchandising, live events and theme parks. This also includes limited matching rights should the Tolkien estate wish to create content based on two particular Tolkien books that were published after the author’s death in 1973, The Silmarillion and The Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-Earth. Warner Bros. also maintains some of the film development rights to The Lord of the Rings through its ownership of New Line Cinema. Warner Bros. last year announced plans for an anime-style theatrical film to be produced with New Line and Warner Bros. Animation, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. Despite this, however, Warner Bros. and Zaentz have butted heads over the years. Due to Warner Bros. not developing new content, plus the anticipation for the Amazon series, convinced Zaentz that it was time to sell.

Company founder Saul Zentz, who passed away in 2017, acquired the film adaptation of multiple Tolkien titles back in 1976. One particular adaptation that was cut out of the deal way back in the ’70s was the right to produce a TV series that was no longer than eight episodes. This loophole specifically allowed Amazon to work out a deal with the Tolkien estate directly for The Rings of Power series in 2017.

Zaentz Co. is currently based in Berkeley, California. While it is also home to The Lord of the Rings (for now), the company has a line of other projects in its history. Zaentz himself first started his career as the leader of Fantasy Records, a jazz and rock label in the 1950s, ’60s, and 70’s. His work in film includes producing films such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Amadeus, and The English Patient. All three of these films have earned Oscars for Best Picture.

If you’re a longtime fan of Middle Earth or have only just begun to enjoy the immersive fantasy epic, this is going to be an exciting time for sure. A new home to the franchise will definitely mean more content in the future; the big question, however, will be “How can it hold up?” Despite the first film premiering twenty years ago, the trilogy still brings in fans. Let’s hope that whoever carries ends up carrying these stories will treat them as preciously as we all do.