Warner Bros. in collaboration with Web3 company Eluvio have just launched an extended version of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring as a unique Web3 movie experience. The Lord of the Rings is arguably the greatest film trilogy of all time, so this sounds like a big deal for the world of Web3. But what exactly is this all about? And is this something that will appeal to fans of Web3 and LOTR? Let’s get to it!
Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
The Lord of the Rings is an incredible story filled with memorable characters, epic battles, hordes of orcs and the ever-useful eagles. J.R.R. Tolkien spent a good portion of his life shaping and defining one of the most imaginative and intricate universes ever conceived, and seeing it come to life on the silver screen was nothing short of an incredible event.
It’s been over two decades since the first film in the trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring , came to cinemas and wowed audiences across the world. With a 91% certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes , The overall consensus is that The Fellowship of the Ring is a cinematic triumph, which is no surprise seeing that the legendary Peter Jackson directed it as well as the other two films in the trilogy. The whole experience is so good and memorable that it’s well worth watching and enjoying over and over again…
Admittedly I haven’t watched The Rings of Power since I haven’t heard anything but bad news about it, so whether the reports are true or not, the original trilogy remains my go-to when I need that LOTR goodness. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed The Hobbit trilogy, but much like the first three Star Wars movies, it’s nigh impossible to top the LOTR trilogy.
The Lord of the Rings Comes to Web3
It’s 2022, and NFTs, the Metaverse and Web3 are the talk of the town. Whether you love these concepts or think they’re a load of hogwash (they aren’t), it’s safe to say that more and more people are talking about this stuff all the time. And so Warner Bros. has teamed up with Eluvio to bring The Fellowship of the Ring to audiences as a “Web3 movie experience.”
But what exactly is a “Web3 movie experience?” Surely it doesn’t mean you purchase an NFT and then watch the whole of The Fellowship of the Rings from a wallet, right? Oh, wait…yes, it does, at least according to an article by Lauren Forristal appearing on TechCrunch .
OK, that’s not really all the bad. I mean, at least you actually own the NFTs. Right? Right?
Let’s read the terms and conditions, shall we?
Yes, the terms and conditions above apply to The Fellowship of the Rings NFTs. So if you thought that NFTs were all about ownership and having some stake in something profound, well, not this time. You don’t actually own anything, which kind of defeats the purpose of purchasing the NFT in the first place.
Anyway, if you’re totally OK with all of what I just mentioned and are still raring to get yourself a Fellow of the Ring NFT, here’s a few important details. To start, there are effectively two editions, namely the Mystery Edition (which consists of 10,000 copies priced at $30 each) and the Epic Edition (which consists of 999 copies priced at $100 each). Regardless of the NFT you purchase, you’ll get access to a 4K UHD extended version of The Fellowship of the Ring as well as more than eight hours of bonus footage and commentary, image galleries and hidden AR collectibles.
If you purchase a Mystery Edition NFT, you’ll get one of three navigation menus based on a well-known location in the film (so either The Shire, Rivendell or The Mines of Moria). If you opt to purchase an Epic Edition NFT, you’ll get all three navigation menus as well as some exclusive bonus image galleries.
Questionable Execution…
I think this concept is fantastic, but the way Warner Bros. and Eluvio have gone about this is questionable at best. Moreover, a lot of people still have an inborn distrust of Web3 tech, especially NFTs. Just browsing Twitter and looking at some of the comments and feedback, the same talk about how they’re scams and bad for the environment abound. I also think that having to experience everything within a media wallet is a bit counter-intuitive and may turn many people off of purchasing an NFT (even if they aren’t all that badly priced).
This is just the start though as Warner Bros. is looking to release an entire “WB Movieverse,” and from what it appears, two more NFT movie experiences will be released in the near future. If you’re a die-hard Lord of the Rings fan, you can head on over to web3.wb.com/warnermedia/movieverse and create an Eluvio media wallet. It might sound cynical, but this does feel more like Warner Bros. trying to cash in on a popular film franchise in order to make some money. Just bear in mind that if you do buy an NFT, you don’t actually own anything, so don’t be upset if you can’t resell it for $1 million dollars or more.
So what do you think of The Fellowship of the Ring Web3 Experience? Is this an amazing opportunity for fans to experience The LOTR in an entirely new way? Or is this an ill-conceived moneymaking scheme? Let us know your thoughts!
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