The rights to The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien have been purchased by a Swedish video company Embracer Group. The company is talking about the spin-off films starring Gandalf Aragorn and Gollum, according to IGN.com. 

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With this deal, Embracer group will get the “worldwide rights to motion pictures, video games, board games, merchandising, theme parks and stage productions”, based on Tolkien’s Middle-earth. 

Embracer mentioned in an acquisition announcement that it is eager to explore movie tie-ins for some well-known characters alongside other upcoming Lord of the Rings projects including Amazon’s The Ring of Power and The War of the Rohirrim anime film. 

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Embracer said, “Other opportunities include exploring additional movies based on iconic characters such as Gandalf, Aragorn, Gollum, Galadriel, Eowyn and other characters from the literary works of J.R.R Tolkein”. It added that it will also, “continue to provide new opportunities for fans to explore this fictive world through merchandising and other experiences”. 

Earlier the rights were owned by The Saul Zaentz Company. The company announced its intention to see Middle-earth Enterprises earlier this year. Amazon was considered a front-runner due to the imminent premiere of his Rings of Power series. 

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The new projects under the Embracer Group would likely be fresh takes that are not necessarily related to the characters or actors featured in the film trilogies. This is akin to the upcoming video game The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, which features a familiar character. The vision of the game is based directly on the book lore, and not the movie interpretation. 

Embracer Group was formerly known as THQ Nordic and currently, Deep Silver is the parent company of publishers like THQ Nordic, and Gearbox and has over 100 game studios. 

This is not the first foray of the Embracer Group into the Tolkein universe according to The Verge. In 2021 the company acquired Asmodee, a French board, role-playing, and card game company that has published LotR-flavored card and board games for several decades.