Amazon invests millions for rights of 'The Lord of the Rings'

WASHINGTON -  Amazon Inc has bought the global television rights to The Lord of the Rings as the online store is bringing the classic fantasy novel series to the small screen with a streaming series based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The series will be a prequel to the J.R.R. Tolkien book "The Fellowship of the Ring," and is based on new storylines which will be available for Amazon Prime members.

New Line Cinema, which distributed the film trilogy, the Tolkien Estate and Trust, and publisher Harper Collins will work with Amazon to produce the television series.

Amazon did not say how much it was paying for the rights but a report said: "Amazon paid close to $250 million just for the rights without any production costs".

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a Twitter post “Amazon Prime heads to Middle Earth,”.

Amazon Prime heads to Middle Earth. https://t.co/QowUmf8t3S pic.twitter.com/YVciEX3u2t

— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) November 13, 2017

Three movies made of the trilogy in the early 2000s, filmed in New Zealand and based on Tolkien’s novels, garnered nearly $3 billion at the box office and 17 Oscar Awards.