The Lord of the Rings franchise has yet to see its end as Prime Video adapted The Rings of Power Season 1 and is now currently in production for Season 2.
Even a new set of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books are being adapted at Warner Bros., featuring the reboot of its original films under Peter Jackson.
Given it’s one of the strongest and most popular IPs out there, it’s no wonder that it would still garner success and an extension of the universe in today’s times. Even by thriving in the world of fanfiction.
A Lord of the Rings fanfiction author has filed a lawsuit against Amazon for ‘ripping off’ his own published novel titled The Fellowship of The King: The War of The Rings.
According to a filed document in the US District Court for the Central District of California, the writer, Demetrius Polychron, wants Amazon to credit their work after being allegedly ‘plagiarized’ in the service’s hit TV series The Rings of Power.
The writer included the following names in their demand: Jeff Bezos, Jennifer Salke (Amazon Studios Head), Simon Tolkien (JRR Tolkien’s grandson), Patrick McKay and John D Payne (The Rings of Power showrunners), The Tolkien state, and more.
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Polychron’s The Fellowship of The King is a part sequel to the original Lord of the Rings novel series, but evidently has similar stories with The Rings of Power.
The fanfic writer reportedly handed over a copy of his manuscript to The Tolkien Estate in hopes of collaborating for the project.
However, Polychron didn’t receive any confirmation nor his manuscript back after sending his copy.
It is worth noting that the book was only published on September 30, 2022, the same day The Rings of Power Episode 5 premiered on Prime Video.
As of writing, Amazon has pulled off Polychron’s novel since the litigation was made public.
Polychron’s lawsuit details have been scattered online, including a table indicating similarities of The Rings of Power with his work.
The lawsuit is supposed to give Demetrius Polychron his credit over the fanfiction work he managed to have published.
It remains to be seen if the author will, in fact, succeed, considering Amazon secured the rights to The Lord of the Rings prequel series.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 is currently in production. In the meantime, you can check out Season 1 streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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