Embracer Group acquires rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit through Center-earth Enterprises

Online game conglomerate Embracer Group has agreed to accumulate the mental property rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit literary works by J.R.R Tolkien.

It’ll accomplish that by buying a secondary fights holder, Center-earth Enterprises, which acquired the rights to movement photos, video video games, board video games, and different rights again within the Nineteen Seventies. Peter Jackson was in a position to make his Oscar-winning motion pictures based mostly on licenses that went again to Center-earth Enterprises.

The worth was not disclosed. However it seems that the e-book rights stay with the Tolkien property, which incorporates the grandchildren and different relations who’re the heirs of J.R.R. Tolkien, who died in 1973. I additionally consider that rights to some works, like The Simarillion, the prequel to the tales in The Lord of the Rings, are additionally retained by the property. But the appendix of The Lord of the Rings has a few of this materials.

Now it’s a brand new age, and video video games could have extra potential than motion pictures. In recognition of that, Sweden’s Embracer Group, by means of its wholly owned subsidiary Freemode, has entered into an settlement to accumulate Center-earth Enterprises, a division of The Saul Zaentz Firm, which owns an enormous mental property catalogue and worldwide rights to movement photos, video video games, board video games, merchandising, theme parks and stage productions referring to the enduring fantasy literary works The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, in addition to matching rights in different Center-earth-related literary works licensed by the Tolkien Property and HarperCollins, which have but to be explored.

“I’m actually excited to have The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, one of many world’s most epic fantasy franchises be part of the Embracer household, opening up extra transmedia alternatives together with synergies throughout our world group,” mentioned Lars Wingefors, group CEO of Embracer Group, in a press release. “I’m thrilled to see what lies sooner or later for this IP with Freemode and Asmodee as a begin throughout the group. Going ahead, we additionally sit up for collaborating with each present and new exterior licensees of our more and more stronger IP portfolio.”

The property will likely be acquired by means of Embracer’s subsidiary Embracer Freemode Iconic Holding Inc. and will likely be a part of the operative group Embracer Freemode.

“We on the Zaentz Firm have had the distinction over the previous half century of stewarding the Tolkien rights in order that Lord of the Rings and Hobbit followers worldwide might take pleasure in award successful epic movies, difficult video video games, first-rate theatre and merchandise of each selection,” mentioned Marty Glick, chief working officer of the Saul Zaentz Firm, in a press release. “We couldn’t be extra thrilled that it’s Embracer now taking over the accountability and we’re assured their group will take it to new heights and dimensions whereas sustaining homage to the spirit of those nice literary works.”

Background and rationale

The Saul Zaentz Firm based mostly in Berkeley, California, US, was based in 1976. It was initially set-up as a movie manufacturing firm, which produced award-winning movies comparable to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

The Saul Zaentz Firm acquired its Tolkien rights from the heirs and property of J.R.R. Tolkien and HarperCollins Publishers, who preserve the print publication rights to J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary works. The Saul Zaentz Firm first acquired the rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit in 1976, in an association with United Artists to provide an animated model of The Lord of the Rings, to be directed by Ralph Bakshi.

The movie was launched in 1978 and has change into a cult basic (however controversial amongst Tolkien followers like me). In 1998, The Saul Zaentz Firm licensed New Line Cinema to allow director Peter Jackson’s live-action trilogies of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. The flicks have grossed over $6 billion on the field workplace and gained many Academy Awards.

By its Center-earth Enterprises division, The Saul Zaentz Firm, impressed by a deep appreciation for the fictional world created by J.R.R. Tolkien, additionally has produced and licensed all kinds of profitable video video games, board video games, stage productions and merchandise based mostly on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit for greater than forty-five years.

Embracer’s operative group Asmodee Group is already one of the crucial profitable licensees of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by means of board video games and card video games, having printed over a dozen video games with over 100 expansions because the launch of The Lord of the Rings board sport over 20 years in the past, together with classics comparable to The Lord of the Rings: The Card Recreation and The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Center-earth, a fully-cooperative, app-supported board sport set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic land of Center-earth.

Key upcoming works set in Center-earth, wherein Center-earth Enterprises has monetary pursuits, embrace the much-heralded Amazon sequence The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Energy which can premiere on September 2, set 1000’s of years earlier than The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings; the animated film The Lord of the Rings: The Struggle of the Rohirrim (Warner Bros), set for launch in 2024, and the cell sport The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Center-earth (Digital Arts).

Different alternatives embrace exploring extra motion pictures based mostly on iconic characters comparable to Gandalf, Aragorn, Gollum, Galadriel, Eowyn and different characters from the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien, and proceed to supply new alternatives for followers to discover this fictive world by means of merchandising and different experiences.

The acquisition of the rights is according to Embracer’s IP-driven transmedia technique. The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are among the many world’s largest, most enduring iconic leisure franchises and birthed the fantasy style.

Center-earth Enterprises will likely be part of the newly based operative group Embracer Freemode. The corporate will proceed to function independently beneath the prevailing Center-earth Enterprises management staff, working intently with Embracer Freemode administration and different Embracer operative teams to foster alternatives, development and synergies throughout the Group to proceed to construct and broaden the nice franchise.

The events have agreed to not disclose particular phrases of the transaction attributable to industrial causes.

Advisors

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP acted as authorized advisor to Embracer Group. Arnold & Porter acted as authorized advisor and ACF Funding Financial institution acted as Funding Banker to The Saul Zaentz Firm.

By Tolkien Enterprises, now Center-earth Enterprises, Saul Zaentz owned the worldwide movie, stage, and merchandise rights to J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It additionally consists of “matching rights” ought to Tolkien’s property movie The Silmarillion or The Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Center-Earth. What it didn’t embrace was the rights for televisions exhibits (for any present longer than eight episodes).

In 1976, Zaentz acquired sure rights as regards The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit from United Artists, who had in flip bought them immediately from Tolkien eight years prior. In 1978, Zaentz produced an animated model of The Lord of the Rings, written mainly by Peter S. Beagle and directed by animator Ralph Bakshi.