As a prequel to “The Lord of the Rings,” Amazon’s series “The Rings of Power” introduced many new characters and others familiar from the books, but according to one writer the production may have copied things about its story.
The series is set in what is known as the Second Age of Middle-earth, and the main plot focuses on the development of the Rings of Power, the creation of Mordor, and the revival of the evil Sauron.
However, many of these are only explained in small ways in the appendices JRR Tolkien wrote in his books, so Amazon had to create original characters and stories, which one fan says were copied.
‘Lord of the Rings’: fan sues Amazon and ‘The Rings of Power’ for plagiarism
Demetrious Polychron, author of the “fan fiction” called “The Fellowship Of The King,” has filed a $250 million lawsuit against Amazon and The Tolkien Estate for allegedly infringing his copyright.
Polychron published his novel based on Tolkien’s world on Amazon’s online store, and after the release of “The Rings of Power”, he says he noticed many similarities and identical names between the characters.
The fan copyrighted his work in 2017 and even tried several times to contact Simon Tolkien (grandson of JRR Tolkien and director of The Tolkien Estate) to read and review his work.
Although he never received a reply or the manuscript he had sent was returned, Polychronos in September 2022 published “The Fellowship of the King”. This date also coincided with the premiere of the Amazon series.
With the end of the first season of “The Rings of Power”, the fan assured that the series plagiarized many things, since its story is based on the world created by Tolkien, but it is an original book and concept.
As reported by Radar Online on April 17, 2023, the lawsuit documents claim that what was copied from Polychron’s work was up to half of the 8-episode series.
They also claim that Amazon plagiarized exact language from his work, except for the fact that in it there is a character named Elanor (who is the daughter of the Hobbit Samwise), while the series also has an Elanor, although it is Harfoot. .
The lawsuit appears to be without merit because the “fan fiction” while claiming to be original and inspired by Middle-earth characters, actually uses many things belonging to The Tolkien Estate.
After the lawsuit, the fan’s book is no longer for sale on Amazon, and Polychron said on Twitter that there’s more to it than meets the eye, since his lawsuit isn’t about money and only half the story is out.
Although some fans believe that his real intentions are just to publicize his book and the lawsuit is a way to get publicity, he knows that his case is almost impossible to win.
Neither Amazon nor The Tolkien Estate has ruled on the lawsuit, and for now filming continues on the second season of “The Rings of Power,” which is expected to be released sometime in 2024.
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Source: univision
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
