Amazon Studios ended up spending over $700 million between its budget and earning the rights for Rings of Power. Before that, others wanted the rights to the fantasy IP. HBO and Netflix had pitches Lord of the Rings series, with the latter having a Marvel approach, as revealed by The Hollywood Reporter.
The idea behind the Netflix pitch of a Lord of the Rings series would have led to the MCU version of the beloved novel series by J.R.R. Tolkien. It would comprise of “several shows,” with some being about Gandalf and Aragorn. According to the source, it “freaked out” the Tolkien Estate.
Some of the most significant and successful films under Marvel Studios have been Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Endgame. The directors of those films, Joe and Anthony Russo, were in the pitching process to be attached to a Third Age film about Aragorn.
Netflix wanted a Marvel approach to Lord of the Rings with multiple series
With the battle for a Lord of the Rings series waged with pitches, HBO had its own. It would have been set in the Third Age. The Tolkien Estate declined this idea as it would be similar and a retelling of the story that was told by Peter Jackson. The estate wanted something fresh, which it got from Amazon’s Rings of Power.
What worked in favor of a Lord of the Rings series from Amazon and not Netflix was its promise to keep a “close relationship” with the estate and to “protect Tolkien’s legacy.” The goal of the showrunners, JD Payne and Patrick McKay, was to create a “real and lived in world” that was more “Braveheart, not Narnia.” The money did not hurt as Amazon Studios put in $250 million, but according to the report, it was “tens of millions” less than its rival streaming platform.
New episodes of Rings of Power hit Amazon Prime Video on Friday.