Warner Bros has some new Lord of the Rings movies in the works, and they could potentially tell one of Tolkien's most iconic love stories. Peter Jackson's film trilogy missed out on many aspects of Middle-earth's history, which means several possibilities for the mysterious new films. One such story holds great importance within Lord of the Rings canon and in author J.R.R. Tolkien's life—and could therefore mean the perfect opportunity for an impactful next step for the franchise.
Though little is known about Warner Bros' movie series, the studio announced that the new Lord of the Rings movies would cover aspects of Tolkien's original books that never made it into Jackson's films. This could mean a great many stories, especially when considering the complex history that the author outlined throughout his works. The new movies may cover Aragorn and Gandalf's adventures searching for Gollum, the arrival of the Isatri in Middle-earth, or even a more thorough remake of the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. However, an even better possibility would be the love story of Beren and Lúthien.
Beren & Lúthien Is Tolkien’s Greatest Middle-Earth Love Story
Though the story of Beren and Lúthien happened long before the events of The Lord of the Rings, it still held great importance within Tolkien's original books. It was mentioned several times throughout Frodo's journey and was told in full by Aragorn while he and the hobbits rested at Weathertop. Aside from this, the story was also recorded in Tolkien's The History of Middle-earth and The Silmarillion and later adapted into its own book, Beren and Lúthien, by Christopher Tolkien (published in 2017).
The story, set in the First Age of Middle-earth, followed a human man, Beren, and an elvish woman, Lúthien, as they fought the odds to be together. Lúthien's father disapproved of their love, so as a price for his daughter's hand, he ordered Beren to retrieve a Silmaril from the Dark Lord Melkor. This was a seemingly impossible task, and Beren was expected to die in the effort—but that didn't stop him from trying. He and Lúthien set off together on the arduous journey, and though Beren was miraculously successful and stealing the Silmaril, he was killed by the great wolf Carcharas in the process.
Devastated by the death of her love, Lúthien became so depressed that she died in her grief and ed on to the Halls of Mandos in Valinor. Typically, when an elf met this fate in The Lord of the Rings, their immortal souls would receive a new body, and they would continue on in Valmar. However, Lúthien had no desire to live without Beren. Her sadness was so strong that it moved Mandos (a sort of demigod in Tolkien canon) to return both her and Beren to life—but only if she sacrificed her immortality. She agreed, and the two lived mortal lives together for the rest of their days.
Beren & Lúthien’s Story Parallels Aragorn & Arwen’s Romance
Of course, Lord of the Rings fans will find Beren and Lúthien's story familiar since it is very similar to that of Aragorn and Arwen. Though the pairing of elves and men isn't quite as forbidden in the books as in Peter Jackson's trilogy, it was always regarded with a sense of tragedy in Tolkien canon. It was the idea of two lovers not just being separated by their race but by war, belief, family, and the concepts of good and evil. This is present through every age of Middle-earth, which made the story of Beren and Lúthien all the more important to Aragorn.
Beren and Lúthien were significant to the future King and Queen of Gondor for more than just their romantic parallels. The couple was their direct ancestors (yes, Aragorn and Arwen are technically related in The Lord of the Rings). Beren and Lúthien were the grandparents of Elrond and his twin brother Elros, who was the first king of Númenor (Aragorn's royal line). This was just another indication of Aragorn and Arwen's destiny—they were always meant to follow in Beren and Lúthien's footsteps.
The LOTR Books Told Beren & Lúthien’s Tale (So It Could Be Part Of The New Movies)
Adapting various stories of Middle-earth into movies is complicated since the Tolkien Estate holds the rights to anything outside the original Lord of the Rings books. This is the reason for all the changes in Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, since the series can only cover events of the First and Second Ages mentioned in the books (not those exclusively in The Silmarillion or other posthumous works). This limits the stories that Warner Bros' new Lord of the Rings movies could be about and makes Beren and Lúthien a little trickier to adapt.
However, because Aragorn told a version of this romantic story in the Lord of the Rings books, it is possible that Warner Bros will get away with it. Like the Rings of Power series, there may need to be significant changes to certain aspects of the tale (especially regarding the Silmarils). However, if done carefully, the new movies could pull this off in a way that not only brings Beren and Lúthien to the screen but enhances the already familiar story of Aragorn and Arwen.
Beren & Lúthien’s Romance Had Connection To J.R.R. Tolkien’s Real-Life Marriage
The story of Beren and Lúthien was important to more than just Aragorn and Arwen—it also had parallels to J.R.R. Tolkien's own life. The author famously based the tale on the hardships of his courtship with his wife, Edith. Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic, and his guardian, a priest called Father Francis, deeply disapproved of Edith since she was protestant. He was forbidden from writing to Edith for years, but the two ultimately overcame the odds and made their differences work. If there was any doubt that he wrote the story of Beren and Lúthien based on his own romance, it was dispelled when he had the name Lúthien engraved on her tombstone.
The importance of Beren and Lúthien to Tolkien's real life has made it all the more important to fans, which means that the stakes would be even higher if Warner Bros decided to use them as the subject for its new movies. The Lord of the Rings plan could be a Tolkien nightmare since ionate audiences will unlikely forgive too many alterations to the canon tale. Of course, the same is often true for any Lord of the Rings screen adaptation, so Warner Bros will need to tread carefully regardless.
