Last week, Warner Bros. Discovery has once again demonstrated that its intentions for the franchise Lord of the Rings They are ambitious. This is an announcement that there are plans to continue exploring the world imagined by J. R. R. Tolkien with at least one production that restores the stories of The Ring trilogy. This time with a work that reunites Peter Jackson with Andy Serkis in a story familiar to readers from the beloved science fiction trilogy. Hunt for Gollum recovers from the adventures of the protagonist up to what happened at the Council of Elrond and which are collected in The Fellowship of the Ring. This includes the abduction and torture the creature suffered directly at the hands of Sauron.
But what seemed like a happy announcement ended up being tainted by controversy that is increasing fans’ demands for future productions. This is a measure that resulted in the removal from the platform of an amateur short film that had been on YouTube for more than a decade and covered the same points as the upcoming film. This seems to be a strange retroactive intellectual property claim. No matter how curious it may seem, Hunt for Gollum Chris Bouchard and released in 2009, It appears to be based on the same idea as the upcoming Warner film.
This led to the fact that, despite its popularity (at the time of writing, the short film has received more than 13 million views), it became the subject of copyright. And although later he was again Online, shows that anything related to Tolkien’s work is in tricky territory. Moreover, the central story has been reinvented and revised from different points of view by millions of fans of the work around the world. Which directly contradicts the intellectual property of the Tolkien family, and now Warner. Is this the case what happened? Hunt for Gollum? We explain it to you step by step.
What is the short film “The Hunt for Gollum” about, the cause of the scandal?
Hunt for Gollum This is a non-commercial short film that is classified as a fan film, so it is essentially a tribute to Tolkien’s work. Directed, produced and written by Briton Chris Bouchard, the film is a reworking of several stories included in the book. The Fellowship of the Ring. Especially the conversation during the Council of Elrond, where Gandalf and Aragorn They tell us who he is and why Gollum is a dangerous creature.
This results in the story being a prequel to the events told in the original literary trilogy, taking place fifteen years before the events that take place in the story. And although the short film has the aesthetics of Peter Jackson’s work, Everything that is told there is more related to the original text than to the movie saga.
Namely, he explores what happened when Gandalf, already fearful of what Bilbo’s ring might be, asked the Dunedain for help in guarding the Shire. This, having discovered that there are dangerous spies from a peaceful region, surely sent by dark lords thirsting for a mysterious treasure.
Is this short film derivative of The Lord of the Rings?
How FanFilm, is a work not endorsed by the Tolkien Estate, Middle-earth Enterprises, or New Line Cinema. All of this organizations that exercise legal rights in the works and derivative works of a British writer.
Despite this, Bouchard told the BBC in 2009 that he had reached an agreement with law enforcement officials to allow the film to be shown. As long as it was a tribute and not a way to gain economic benefit or profit from the short film.
Thus, after premiering at the Sci-Fi-London Film Festival, it appeared online on May 3, 2009, where it could be viewed for free. The play has become a cult among followers of the world invented by J. R. R. Tolkien and an example of all that a series of stories has to offer to film and television.
Why Warner Bros. Did Discovery consider this short film to be a form of copyright infringement?
There is no clear reason why Warner tried to prevent the distribution of the short film, which had been online for thirteen years and had been a significant success among visitors. Following the May 9 announcement of an upcoming feature film due in 2026, the fan film was removed from YouTube. In addition, you could read a notice that clarified that the material violated the company’s copyright.
But without a brief description or plot details for the upcoming production, it appears that this claim has more to do with the title shared by both. However, given what Bouchard said, the work is directly based on an interpretation of the literary part of Tolkien’s world. Moreover, one that has received the approval of the original owners of the intellectual property.
However, in the midst of nasty controversy among networks, Warner withdrew the lawsuit and the short film on YouTube. This appears to indicate that the fan film is not breaking any law at this time and will not be removed in retaliation for its content. You can watch the short film right now here.
What can we expect in the future from The Lord of the Rings?
In recent years, the Lord of the Rings universe has received special attention. And it doesn’t look like that will change in the future. Second season The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, The ambitious Prime Video series will premiere this year.
What is he joining now? The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim. The latter is an animated film directed by Kenji Kamiyama, which will hit the big screen in December 2024.
Source: Hiper Textual
