Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?
This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.
Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
There was a window for “serious fantasy” adaptation around the peak of Game of Thrones. I could see one of the more contained stories, Beren and Luthien or even Túrin Turambar, working in that context.
You can’t get too mythic, or you’ll lose people. See Marvel vs. DC films. But you also can’t inject
humanelven interest, because it will subsume the setting into thin plots. See everything about Rings of Power. So parts I, II and IV are out. I’d argue against doing the War of Wrath for the same reasons. It’s amazing in the source material as a culmination of this centuries-long slide into oblivion. Without that setup, it’s pure dei ex machina.A lot of the other stories only work as part of that arc. The characters are static and situations are largely out of their control. I could see a miniseries or similar capturing the various political disasters, building up to Nirnaeth Arnoediad, but man. Talk about a rough place to end it.
The mûmak in the room is, of course, Fëanor. He’s got some of the best character notes, but that’s not enough to make a character arc. He sets so much in motion, but without room for the payoff, it’d fall flat. Maybe he’d work as a force of nature, silhouetted in the opening credits and otherwise avoided? The Dark Souls opening cutscene, so to speak? I can’t think of a good comparison in TV.
Anyway. I suggested the best options were Túrin and Luthien. The former works as a self-contained tragedy. It’s got great setpieces, actual character development, and the lurid and very human disasters so popular in prestige TV. I think it’d still work, even if the market for grim stories has subsided a bit.
Beren and Luthien are pretty different. They’re more fleshed out than most Silmarillion characters, and have enough plot beats for an actual movie. But the setpieces are kind of underwhelming—could one portray dancing Morgoth to sleep without causing eye-rolls? I could see this one working only as a painfully unironic portrayal. Something on par with the Jackson movies, where excellent production and casting lets people suspend disbelief. A well-executed love story consistently sells well. However…I’m not sure such an angle would be chosen today. The urge to Subvert Expectations is still incredibly strong.
I miss @FarNearEverywhere.
More options
Context Copy link