Who Are The Embracer Group, And What Does It Mean For The Future Of 'The Lord Of The Rings'?
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The Embracer Group, formerly known as formerly Nordic Games Licensing AB and THQ Nordic AB, is a Swedish video game and media holding company who recently announced their purchase of Middle-earth Enterprises. Among other purchases, the Embracer Group’s acquiring of the “Lord of the Rings” franchise brings some untold power.
While the company is not the new owner of the franchise in its entirety, the Embracer Group now has the authority to sway opinion about whatever material may be adapted into different mediums. This includes film, television, board games, theme parks and of course, video games. Subject to this influence is the Amazon series, “The Rings of Power.”
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While there are many new avenues to be taken with the Lord of the Rings story and lore, with such a beloved and long-standing franchise in new hands, one must wonder what direction the Embracer Group will take. Luckily, the publishing rights still belong to the Tolkien family, as does anything to do with The Silmarillion and Tolkien’s other posthumously published works according to The Verge’s Ash Parrish.
Warner Bros. also retains some feature-length production rights as a part of the license it obtained from Middle-earth Enterprises. Diving further into what Warner Bros. still has claim over in the Group’s purchase of many of the LOTR franchise also draws concern with Amazon’s “The Rings of Power” series.
As Parrish explains, “Warner Bros., as a part of its licensing deal, likely has to keep producing LotR media lest they risk the rights returning to its original owners.” Due to this, the Group intends to expand and the franchise as much as possible. In the Embracer Group’s own words,
“Other opportunities include exploring 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, and continu[ing] to provide new opportunities for fans to explore this fictive world through merchandising and other experiences.”
An exciting prospect. CEO and Founder of the Embracer group Lars Wingefors mentions being “thrilled to see what lies in the future for this IP with [Embracer] Freemode and Asmodee as a start” and “looks forward to collaborating with both existing and new external licensees of our increasingly stronger IP portfolio.” This allows for more money to be made on the Lord of the Rings series not just in merchandising, but within the shareholders as well. The growing the of variety of merchandise and lore’s stories further only to make a great story greater.
From Gollum’s origin story to Aragon’s time living with the Elves, the possibilities are endless. Even characters from Amazon’s The Rings of Power have the opportunity to be built upon and obtain more pivotal roles within the franchise. Perhaps the Embracer Group can focus on well established characters in the LOTR franchise. They have the time and funds to continue for however long into the future. An audience is already there.
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