Out of the recent interview with the Head of Amazon Studios Jennifer Salke, more details are being reported by various outlets about the series direction, the Tolkien estate involvement and talks with Peter Jackson.<\/p>\n
From Variety<\/a>:<\/p>\n \nSalke inherited a number of projects in the works, none bigger than a forthcoming series adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien\u2019s \u201cThe Lord of the Rings,\u201d the subject of a massive deal last year that Bezos involved himself personally in. According to Salke, that deal only officially closed last month. But Amazon has been meeting with writers. Salke herself spent three hours with Tolkien\u2019s grandson Simon Tolkien, and the next step is for representatives of the Tolkien estate to meet with writers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a partnership,\u201d she said of Amazon\u2019s deal with the estate. \u201cThey have some lines in the play on this on strategy and on vision. The great news about that is that they\u2019re actually really thoughtful and smart, as you would expect.\u201d<\/p>\n The Tolkien deal covers most, but not all of the material connected to the author\u2019s Middle Earth saga. Salke said that it is still too early to say what shape, exactly, the series will take. But, she added, \u201cIt\u2019s not a remaking of the movies, and it\u2019s not a whole new thing. It\u2019s something in between. It\u2019s not, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s \u201cLord of the Rings\u201d but you don\u2019t recognize anything in it,\u2019 but it\u2019s not totally familiar to you either. So it\u2019s original.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n