Xenite.Org News

Another poll pits "Lord of the Rings" against other films - Lord of the Rings news - J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

June 18, 2000 at 20:10:26

Ringzone.Net has learned that Coming Soon! is running a poll on their site asking fans which movie franchise they believe will be the most successful.

These polls are sometimes fun for highly competitive fandom groups to participate in (the Hercules and Xena fans used to rally at the drop of a hat when the Buffy fans began to dominate certain polls).

Coming Soon! has pitted "The Lord of the Rings" against "Harry Potter", "The Matrix", "Spider-Man", and "X-Men".

"The Matrix" is going to be at least three movies. If "Harry Potter" is successful it's almost certain more HP movies will follow, too, since there are already several books and no end seems in sight.

Superhero movies often come in fours ("Superman", "Superman II", "Superman III", "Superman IV" and "Batman", "Batman Returns", "Batman Forever", "Batman and Robin"), although there are no limits to when these franchises may stop reprising their roles. So "The Lord of the Rings" is up against some tough competition. Voters may be expected to understand that the other selections don't represent single movies.

Michael DeLuca of New Line Cinema has indicated that his company might underwrite a "Hobbit" movie if "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy is successful. So it's almost certain (though not guaranteed) that when the cameras stop rolling in New Zealand people are going to start talking about a new "Hobbit" production. Although such a movie might extend the franchise, one must wonder if Peter Jackson would be involved, or if it would live up to the same production values as the trilogy. Sequels often disappoint viewing audiences (although "Superman II" is often considered the best of the Christopher Reeve movies).