LEGO Dimensions Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Middle-earth Enterprises

Middle-earth Enterprises, formerly know as Tolkien Enterprises, is currently a subdivision of the Embracer Freemode division of Embracer Group, a Swedish video game and media holding company (formerly Nordic Games Licensing AB and THQ Nordic AB until 2019). However, prior to August 2022, Middle-earth Enterprises used to be a trade name for a division of The Saul Zaentz Company.

The subdivision owns the worldwide exclusive rights to certain elements of J. R. R. Tolkien's two most famous literary works: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. These elements include the names of characters contained within as well as the names of places, objects and events within them, and certain short phrases and sayings from the works.

Background[]

J. R. R. Tolkien sold the film, stage and merchandising rights of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to United Artists in 1968. They in turn sold them to The Saul Zaentz Company in 1976, which licenses them through the former Tolkien Enterprises, now named Middle-earth Enterprises. United Artists retained distribution rights.

In 1977, Rankin/Bass licensed the rights to produce an animated version of The Hobbit, which was broadcast on NBC. In 1978, Tolkien Enterprises and the distributor United Artists funded and released an animated version of The Lord of the Rings directed by Ralph Bakshi, which covered approximately the first half of The Lord of the Rings.

In 1999, the company severed their licensing agreement with Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE) for role-playing games set in Middle-earth after ICE ceased developing new products for this line. This contributed to ICE filing for bankruptcy in 2001. Tolkien Enterprises then made a new licensing agreement with Decipher Inc. for their The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game, which published content from 2002 to 2006.

Initially, Miramax was backing the production of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings films in 1997, but was restricted by then-owner Disney, who demanded that they turn the story into one film instead of two films, thus Jackson brought the project to New Line Cinema, who acquired the rights to develop The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit from Miramax for about $12 million. (Miramax retained a 5% stake in the gross.) Principal photography for Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy was conducted concurrently in New Zealand from 11 October 1999 through to 22 December 2000. Produced under license from Tolkien Enterprises and released by New Line in 2001, 2002, and 2003, the films met critical and commercial success. However, in August 2004, Tolkien Enterprises sued New Line for $20 million in unpaid royalties based on the difference between gross and net profits. An out-of-court settlement was reached in August 2005, though details were not released.

Video game rights to Tolkien's literary works were first licensed to Vivendi, which produced The Fellowship of the Ring in 2002 and The Hobbit in 2003. At around the same time licensing agreements for products relating to the films produced by Peter Jackson were obtained by Electronic Arts (EA), leading to the release of a series of games, starting with The Two Towers in 2002. In 2005, EA acquired the rights to produce games based on the literary works as well, producing further titles up to the release of The Lord of the Rings: Conquest in 2009, when the licensing agreement expired. Video game rights then passed to Warner Brothers.

In 2010, the name of the subdivision was changed to Middle-earth Enterprises.

Trivia[]

ved LEGO Dimensions Companies
20th Century FoxAmblin EntertainmentAnimal LogicBBCCartoon NetworkColumbia PicturesDC ComicsDC EntertainmentFilm RomanFrederator StudiosGhost CorpsGracie FilmsHanna-BarberaJ.K. Rowling's Wizarding WorldKlasky CsupoLEGOMetro-Goldwyn-MayerMidway GamesMiddle-earth EnterprisesNew Line CinemaParamount PicturesSEGASonic TeamSony Pictures Consumer ProductsThe Curiosity CompanyThe Geffen Film CompanyTimeWarnerTraveller's TalesTurner Broadcasting SystemUniversal StudiosValve CorporationViacomWarner Bros. AnimationWarner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Advertisement