Elijah Wood looking exhausted as Frodo in Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings The Return of the King The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy co-writer Philippa Boyens teases what’s to come for the franchise, including a potential new trilogy. Based on the books by author J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson’s fantasy trilogy released from 2001 to 2003 before he then returned to make The Hobbit trilogy. Now, an anime called The War of the Rohirrim is poised for release in theaters this month and development on The Hunt for Gollum is underway, both of which feature Jackson on board as a producer.

During a recent interview with The Playlist, Boyens, who now comprises the Lord of the Rings “brain trust” responsible for overseeing the franchise alongside Jackson and original trilogy co-writer Fran Walsh, provides a hint about the IP’s future. According to Boyens, there could be additional projects in the anime realm, as well as standalone live-action projects. Interestingly, she also teases that there is the potential for an “epic” new trilogy. Check out her comments below:

There’s a lot of [possibilities], when you look at it, there’s a lot of things in there, actually. One of the things this [‘War Of The Rohirrim’] story has shown us is that a stand-alone story works really successfully within the world of Middle-earth and I would genuinely—because I’ve fallen in love with the form—love to see another anime. But that depends on the audiences out there, your audience, fans of not only the original trilogy, but that vast anime audience. I’m really interested to see what they think.

So we’re in the audience’s hands. If there’s an appetite for it, we’ve got more stories. There’s a ton of stories left to be told there and some really, really interesting ones. But my preference would be, after ‘Hunt For Gollum,’ would be to look at those stand-alone stories. And then if we got really ambitious—there are some epic, particular stories that could translate into that more traditional epic trilogy format that was the original ‘Lord Of The Rings,’ the War of the Rings story.

What Boyens’ Update Means For The Lord Of The Rings Franchise

When Will More Movies Arrive?

Gollum in The Hobbit looking up.

It’s now been 10 years since the release of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, which marks the last live-action movie in the franchise. Though 10 years is a long time for a successful franchise to lay dormant, it certainly looks like another break of that length may not be on the horizon. The War of the Rohirrim releases in the coming weeks, while The Hunt for Gollum is expected to bow in 2026.

Since Boyens, Jackson, and Walsh are clearly exploring what other Middle-earth stories there are to be told, it’s entirely possible that another project gets put into development before The Hunt for Gollum even hits theaters. Judging from Boyens’ comment, however, the brain trust may wait to see how the two upcoming movies are received before leaping into another. If The War of the Rohirrim is a success, there could well be another anime, while The Hunt for Gollum‘s success would be the key to additional live-action adventures.

The continuation of Warner Bros.’ Lord of the Rings movie franchise will seemingly run concurrently with Amazon’s The Rings of Power series, for which there is a five-season plan.

Our Take On Boyens’ Lord Of The Rings Update

Is Middle-earth Fatigue On The Way?

Ian McKellen as Gandalf looking up with alarm in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

The danger with any franchise is that audiences become overwhelmed with material and franchise fatigue sets in. Though returning to Jackson’s world of Middle-earth makes a lot of sense given his trilogy’s commercial success, returning to that well too many times could see diminishing returns. This is especially true if the upcoming two movies don’t deliver from a quality standpoint.

For many, Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy is the gold standard when it comes to fantasy adaptations, and any future movies – even ones he directs – will likely struggle to recapture this particular brand of magic. Though the prospect of more movies in the franchise is exciting, it would be a shame to overdo it. Many questions remain about Lord of the Rings‘ future, but it’s clear there could end up being far more than just two more movies.