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[Loxley]

We heard rumors earlier this year about possibility of a theme park based off of all things Middle-Earth, but nothing since. Now the rumors have popped up again, this time with The House of Mouse.

Yes, that’s right. It sounds like Disney and Warner Brothers have either signed or are very close to singing an agreement that will bring “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” movie-inspired areas to the Disney Parks. This comes on the heels of rumors that it would be Universal that would acquire the theme parks rights several months ago.

Disney began talking to executives at Warner Bros. about the idea late last year, and it seems now that Disney is looking to finalize or announce the deal in hopes of turning the tide in the Orlando theme park wars.

Rumor has it that Universal Orlando’s parks may show stronger attendance numbers in 2014 with the opening of a second Wizarding World of Harry Potter area, actually defeating Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. This has Disney frightened.
With already announced AVATAR inspired attractions going to Animal Kingdom in the not-so-distant future, Disney is rumored to be overhauling a planned expansion of Hollywood Studios focusing to focus Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings. It would seem that any Cars Land additions planned for the park are now on hold or may never be built so that Disney could quickly move along with these other projects for the park, opening them between 2015 and 2018.

While we haven’t heard anything about what a Lord of the Rings-inspired area would include, it seems that an announcement from Disney might be imminent.
As with any rumor, you should take this with a grain of salt until it is actually announced. Things often change, especially when negotiations with other companies are involved, so who knows if this project will ever see the light of day. Until then, it sure is fun to think about…

[source]

In a bit of sad irony, Tolkien himself once wrote in a letter that he loathed Disney and swore to never sell them the film rights to any of his creations. It makes sense that Universal and Disney would be in a bit of a bidding war for the chance to have attractions based off of the The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, but it's weird that WB would want to partner with Disney for anything given recent events.

The earlier rumors suggested that the Tolkien Estate was heavily involved in the discussions, and were actually open to the idea after hearing how much Universal listened to JK Rowling's input and creative control. Given Tolkien's feelings toward Disney, I would be shocked if they were okay this - assuming it ends up actually happening.