Then Came the Swedes

So, thanks to friend Jim for sharing the news that people keep giving huge amounts of money to get Tolkien licensing rights. This time it's the Swedes:

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/18/embracer-group-buys-rights-to-lord-of-the-rings-and-tolkien-related-intellectual-property.html

Here's a passage that shows how widely they interpret their remit.

. . .  the deal . . . gives Embracer the rights to movies,

 video games, board games, merchandising, theme parks 

and stage productions relating to Tolkien’s works.

This is essentially the old Saul Zaentz 'movie merchandising' that Tolkien Enterprises has licensed, re-licensed, and sub-licensed from for decades.  But the new folks, Embracer /Asmodee intend to go further:

The company said it will explore “additional movies 

based on iconic characters such as Gandalf, Aragorn,

 Gollum, Galadriel, Eowyn and other characters 

from the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien.”

--That is, they plan to go boldly into territory that was considered hands off under the Amazon license.

It'll be interesting to see what new projects come out of this (e.g., a Middle-earth theme park*), and how the new Swedish overlords exercise their stewardship.

--John R.

*Ringworld?