Christopher Tolkien doesn't want any screen version of Middle-Earth. He's 90. Once hes gone someone like Simon Tolkien will sell the rights.
Simon Tolkien is not taking over after Christopher dies. Adam Tolkien is.
That's the charm of the story and why it's the most faerie-like of all of the tales from the Legendarium. Not just one event of eucatastrophe, but multiple events; each time Bilbo's influence increasing, thus his maturation.
Adam is the most likely successor. The rights can also protected via perpetuity. The rights will not be sold for a long time to come, if ever.
To be fair to Legolas his inclusion makes sense considering his position in the realm of Mirkwood. And before the trilogy split it was thought that he would have a much smaller role; something akin to a cameo. Tauriel though was a mistake. Taking cues from the novel would have sufficed. Bilbo as an androgynous protagonist; equally appealing to both boys and girls, thus negating the need for a female character.
Of course the nuances of the novel are lost in a live action adaptation and what works in the novel via Tolkien's elegance is hard to translate on film. That's one reason why I would have preferred a high budget animated adaptation rather than a live action trilogy. I don't really care for visual continuity, but many would be bothered by the jump from animation to live action if viewing the two adaptations back-to-back. But then it would help to distinguish the faerie essence of The Hobbit.
Christopher's daughter or his sister.
Edmond Dantès;144527974 said:
Both Christopher's sister (Priscilla) and his daughter Rachel share similar views. Priscilla more so, but her age may be a significant factor and Christopher may not want to burden her with such a role. Although the solicitors who represent the Estate do much of the work, they do defer to the Literary Executor who has absolute power.
Edmond Dantès;144527974 said:
If WB do decide to expand on the licence that they currently have, the above would provide for the manner in which the narrative is told. Older Aragorn narrating to his son the adventures of his life. Viggo would reprise his role and he would of course be the perfect age for it.Another random trivia: the son of Aragorn and Arwen is actually son of Nori (Jed Brophy).
On the contrary, he's merely an individual who has a deep connection to his father's work and thus finds it difficult to let go. Let us not forget that one man's genius has benefited from the lifetimes of two men.
Edmond Dantès;144542020 said:
It would essentially be the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen with other elements of the appendices. One film, that's all. But it could lead to a 'Tales from Middle-earth' type of franchise, which I'm not too sure about.
An extreme reaction certainly, but they have since reconciled and one wonders if the issue between them was deeper than just a disagreement over intellectual property, but that is firmly in the realm of speculation and family affairs are family affairs and none of our business.
Edmond Dantès;144545038 said:
Edmond Dantès;144544297 said:
He lives with his wife in seclusion in France away from the public. He has washed his hands of the films and most probably ignores the media. I'm sure that he's aware that there is a dislike of his position, but at his age, such things are meaningless really.