Is Middle Earth big enough?

And Showtime hit gets its lead back

What to know

• Is Middle Earth big enough for both Amazon and Warner Bros?… Interesting analysis piece by James Hibberd over at THR on the topic of The Lord of the Rings and its two masters. In one corner you have Amazon and its rights to Tolkein’s Second Age (as currently seen in Rings of Power) and in the other, Warner Bros. with rights to the more familiar, but already told Third Age (more movies are in the works). Can this franchise support it all? I’m of the mind that if the studios make it, people will come — but Hibberd concludes that neither Amazon nor WB are going to be that successful. He says Amazon is working with weaker material, while WB will have to scrape the bottom of an IP barrel that’s already been tapped. The only thing we know for sure is that these studios are not going to stop trying. 💍

Upgrade to a full Pop Culture Brain Daily subscription for $1/month or $6/year.