X

Rumored 'Lord of the Rings' series may be the show to rule them all

J.R.R. Tolkien's novels could turn into your next favorite fantasy hit, but don't book a ticket to Middle-earth just yet.

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, and generational studies Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Gael Cooper
Frodo.jpg

Could "Lord of the Rings" be on its way to the small screen?

New Line Cinema

Don't plan a premiere party in the Shire yet, but multiple media outlets are reporting that a "Lord of the Rings" series could be coming to Amazon, Netflix or HBO.

According to a late-Friday report from Variety, author J.R.R. Tolkien's estate and Warner Bros Television are in talks with Amazon Studios to develop a series based on the books. But according to Deadline, Amazon isn't the only place the show could land: That publication reports that HBO (home of "Game of Thrones") and Netflix have also been approached about the project.

Warner Bros declined CNET's request for comment.

The Tolkien fantasy trilogy was famously made into three successful movies released in 2001, 2002 and 2003, all directed by Peter Jackson. But with fantasy hit "Game of Thrones" scoring such an enormous hit for HBO, it's clear that complex fantasy novels can be translated into multi-episode, must-watch small-screen shows.

Farewell to Middle-earth: celebrate 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' (pictures)

See all photos