Karlstad, Sweden-based Embracer Group is set to acquire Middle-earth Industries, the company that owns the IP rights to J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit series.
As part of the deal, the video game giant will be granted the rights to movies, video games, merchandising, theme parks, stage productions and more. Embracer is purchasing the IPs from the California-based Saul Zaentz Company for an undisclosed sum.
Already, though, Embracer is talking about potential avenues for the properties, including “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.” For now, though, the next big The Lord of the Rings release will be The Rings of Power, a big-budget live-action series premiering on Amazon Prime Video on September 1st.
In any case, Middle-earth Industries is the latest in an ever-growing lineup of acquisitions from Embracer Group. Over the years, the company’s portfolio has grown to include the likes of Deep Silver (Saints Row), Gearbox (Borderlands), Saber Interactive (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary) and Dark Horse Comics (Hellboy). Most recently, the company announced a deal with Square Enix to acquire several of the Japanese gaming giant’s properties (including Tomb Raider and Deus Ex) and studios (like Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Montreal).
Image credit: Warner Bros.
Source: Embracer Group
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