Warner Bros. Discovery releases a ‘Lord of the Rings’ NFT
The only thing more valuable than a ring is an NFT. Per DeadlineWarner Bros. Discovery is set to become the first major studio to release footage as a multimedia NFT, releasing a bundle of The The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring NFTs tomorrow.
The studio is partnering with Content Blockchain pioneer Eluvio to bring Middle Earth and Shire footage to life via the Web3 Movie Experience. “Fans of Lord of the Rings can now acquire, engage and transact with an epic live media experience that will undoubtedly surprise and delight them,” said Michelle Munson, CEO and co-founder of Eluvio. “It’s truly designed for a mass consumer audience, not just Web3 enthusiasts, which is why it should, and does, feel so remarkable and engaging. At the same time, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is setting a new bar for innovation in home movie distribution by to demonstrate the potential of Web3 for consumer engagement, digital supply chain transformation and new business opportunities.”
Each NFT has a 4K copy of the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring– the first film in Peter Jacksonhis Academy Award-winning Tolkein trilogy – as well as behind-the-scenes footage, images and exclusive assets inspired by the film. There will be two different versions of NFT: The Mystery Edition and The Epic Edition. The Mystery Edition will include an interactive location-based navigation menu from one of three movie locations – The Shire, Rivendell or Mines of Moria – as well as location-specific art and hidden AR collectibles. The Epic Edition includes all the features of The Mystery Edition, as well as additional image galleries not included in the Mystery Edition. The Mystery Edition will cost $30, while the Epic Edition will cost $100.
Lord of the Rings NFT comes hot on the heels of Amazon Primes The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series, set in Middle Earth’s second age, which recently concluded its first season. Yesterday, Lord of the Rings IP broker Thomas Dey, which recently sold Calls IP to Sweden’s Embracer Group, told an audience at MIPCOM Cannes that he believed Lord of the Rings can become as big a franchise as Star Wars or Marvel, and shared that Embracer has big plans in the gaming space for the fantasy series.
“You disappear for 10 hours and are active in that environment,” Dey said, of games. “So I think we will lean forward to that entertainment over the next decade and will look for other ways to do it. Audiences are demanding more than the ‘lean back’ approach.”
Lord of the Rings NFT will be available for purchase exclusively on October 21, via credit card or cryptocurrency.
