No one saw this lawsuit coming.
Related: Sudden Heart Attack Halts Production of ‘Lord of the Rings’ Spin-Off
JRR Tolkien’s high-fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings series debuted in 1954, following the success of the friendlier The Hobbit tale aimed at younger readers from 1937. Ever since the world was introduced to Tolkien and his land of Middle-earth, enthusiasm for Tolkien’s works has grown significantly, with its fanbase ranging from comedian and talk show host, (and mega-nerd) Stephen Colbert, to young kids, adults, and even Tolkien-specific scholars. The impact of Tolkien is expanding every year, as new fans get introduced to older works — which now includes the Peter Jackson The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film iterations. Feel old yet?
You could say that Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings became the series that launched a thousand adaptations — and now with the newest (and most expensive) Tolkien-verse work, the trend of expanding does not seem to be ending any time soon.
Unfortunately, it appears that not everything is smooth sailing in Tolkien-spin-off land. But it’s not just the sudden heart attack that plagued the spin-off series’ filming last month. Now, the latest shake-up has been revealed to be an unprecedented multi-million dollar lawsuit.
Related: Fans Upset as Amazon’s “God-Awful” ‘Lord of the Rings’ Character Photos Spark Major Debate
What is the Lord of the Rings spin-off about?
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022), a new Amazon Prime series set in the Second Age, was developed by JD Payne and Patrick McKay in collaboration with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, Harper Collins, and New Line Cinema, the studio responsible for Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. It premiered exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on September 2 last year, with Amazon investing significantly in the production of the series, making it the most expensive TV series ever created with a budget of 1 billion US dollars. This may not come as a surprise, considering Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is reportedly a fan of Tolkien’s work.
In Season One of The Rings of Power, the storyline branches out to follow various characters, with a significant focus on a younger Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), one of the central elves in the story, originally portrayed by Cate Blanchett in Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings. Other well-known characters from the Tolkien legendarium like Elrond (Robert Aramayo), originally played by Hugo Weaving, also take on pivotal roles. A major twist (spoilers!) reveals that Halbrand, played by Charlie Vickers, is actually the Dark Lord Sauron, hinting at darker themes to come. The series also delves into the adventures of Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur), Princess Disa (Sophia Nomvete), Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker), Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi), Marigold Brandyfoot (Sara Zwangobani), Largo Brandyfoot (Dylan Smith), Nor/Elanor Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh), Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), Elendil (Lloyd Owen), Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle), and Isildur (Maxim Baldry). Additionally, Daniel Weyman portrays the stranger, a member of the Istari (wizards) who arrives in Middle-earth through a meteor.
The second season of the show is currently being filmed in the UK, instead of in New Zealand like the previous season, and all adaptations before it.
Who is suing Bezos and the Tolkien estate, and why?
Earlier, RadarOnline had obtained court documents that reported that Demetrious Polychron, an author, has filed a lawsuit worth $250 million against Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, multiple executives from Amazon Studios, and JRR Tolkien’s estate, accusing them of copyright infringement. Polychron claims to have created, written, and published an original book titled The Fellowship of the King, along with a seven-book series called The War of the Rings, for which he obtained a copyright in 2017. He states that his work was greatly influenced by JRR Tolkien’s books.
Fan source Fellowship of Fans shares images and details of Polychron’s book from which The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is allegedly plagiarizing from:
Here is the book in question: indiereader.com/book_review/th
(continued) In November 2017, the writer claimed he sent a letter to Tolkien’s grandson explaining his love of the Lord of the Ring books, and told him about his books. Polychron claimed he asked if Tolkien’s relative would review his book. However, he said he received no response.
In November 2017, the writer claimed he sent a letter to Tolkien’s grandson explaining his love of the Lord of the Ring books, and told him about his books. Polychron claimed he asked if Tolkien’s relative would review his book.
However, he said he received no response.— Fellowship of Fans (@FellowshipFans) April 18, 2023
Adding on, Fellowship of Fans details the blurb on the back of the book — which very clearly steals Tolkien’s original creations and lore ripped verbatim. It mentions classic Tolkien names, words, and places like “Middle-earth”, “Celebrimbor”, “Gondor” and “Hobbits” — among many, many others:
Here is the back and the blurb of the book:
“One king will gather them all, one king will unite them, one king will lead them against the evil that will smite them”
😂😂😂
(continued) From the synopsis page for the book in question on the author’s website: Long before the arrival of Annatar, the original Rings of Power were forged by Celebrimbor and Narvi in Eregion near the Misty Mountains. These first magic Rings were far more powerful than those that came… (cont.)
From the synopsis page for the book in question on the author’s website:
Long before the arrival of Annatar, the original Rings of Power were forged by Celebrimbor and Narvi in Eregion near the Misty Mountains. These first magic Rings were far more powerful than those that came…
— Fellowship of Fans (@FellowshipFans) April 18, 2023
Later, Fellowship of Fans confirmed this lawsuit to indeed be real:
🚨CONFIRMED: This is a real lawsuit!
Demetrious Polychron is suing: “Jeff Bezos, Jennifer Salke, Simon Tolkien, Patrick Mckay, John D Payne, Amazon Studios LLC, Amazon Content Services LLC, The Tolkien Estate, The Tolkien Estate Limited and The Tolkien Trust”
🤯
(continued) Details of the suit are here:
https://dockets.justia.com/docket/california/cacdce/2:2023cv02831/881511
Details of the suit are here:https://t.co/MmgRDxzGPc
— Fellowship of Fans (@FellowshipFans) April 18, 2023
Fans of Tolkien have come out in droves to marvel at the audacity of this author, who is clearly plagiarizing from Tolkien himself:
He really just opened himself up to be counter-sued for absolutely everything 💀😂
He really just opened himself up to be counter-sued for absolutely everything 💀😂
— HardierGnome (@HardierGnome) April 18, 2023
This is certainly an… entertaining development in the Tolkien-sphere. The fact that Polychron is suing Bezos, Amazon execs, and the Tolkien Estate surely indicates that this individual has just astonishing, Sam Gamgee-levels of bravery.
What do you think of the lawsuit that Amazon and the Tolkien Estate are facing? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
