Warner Bros., a major player in the multimedia entertainment industry, has teamed up with Web3 company Eluvio to release The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in its entirety as a collection of NFTs to launch the “WB Movieverse,” an initiative that sounds more and more absurd the more you hear about it. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Version) Web3 Movie Experience, a cumbersomely named rerelease of Peter Jackson’s 2001 movie that will exist on Eluvio’s branded Content Blockchain, was just announced by Warner Bros. Eluvio CEO Michelle Munson praised Warner Bros. for its dedication to NFT projects in a press release about their collaboration and claimed that their partnership is poised to support the growth of films as NFTs.
“Fans of The Lord of the Rings can now acquire, participate, and trade in an epic living media experience that will undoubtedly surprise and delight them,” said Munson. “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.”
Physical copies of The Fellowship of the Ring and all of Warner Bros.’ Lord of the Rings films in 4K are now available for purchase and permanent ownership. Even so, the studio is betting that the inclusion of a few NFT-related features in the “Mystery” and “Epic” editions of the film will be enough to entice consumers to take the plunge into WB’s Movieverse. The $30 Mystery Edition includes The Fellowship of the Ring in digital form, as well as a choice of three interactive navigation menus based on The Shire, Rivendell, or the Mines of Moria, each with their own set of image galleries, eight hours of special features, and a number of “hidden AR collectibles.” At just $100, the Epic Edition is a steal.
A representative from Eluvio stated that the company intends to release more films in the future as NFTs and that the Movieverse could serve as a marketplace for users to buy and sell these asset bundles in the future. Eluvio added that Warner Bros. may consider minting the individual assets (e.g., a single picture) that make up the movie NFTs so that they can be sold separately in the future.
Not surprisingly, WB has decided not to include any of that functionality in the initial release of Movieverse. Even if it does, it seems unlikely that Warner Bros. will be able to convince many people to buy what is essentially a collectible DVD menu that has been dressed up to look like a novelty item accessible through a web browser. Beginning October 21st, you can purchase the digital movie NFT The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition).
Marine Corps Veteran-turned-national-tv-personality Eric Mitchell is a world leading expert in sports media, regularly appearing on the world’s largest outlets from BBC, MSNBC, Fox News, Bloomberg, CNN and more. His signature blend of snark and industry expertise landed him columns at none other than RollingStone, GritDaily, PopWrapped, Disrupt — and most recently — Editor in Chief at NFT Today Magazine. When he’s not making media appearances or running his empire at LifeFlip Media, he can be found entertaining his thousands of loyal followers on social media through his authentic filter-free content.
