There has been a lot of talk about an adaptation of The Silmarillion lately, with The Hobbit movies drawing to an end. Many fans of Jackson’s movies want to see movies based on The Silmarillion, although anyone who knows the text could tell you a movie (or a trilogy) based on the book would be impossible. There’s 20+ stories and hundreds of characters in the book spanning over 500 years. The other option people have suggested is a television series, a lot like Game of Thrones. Now even though I do not think the style of HBO or Game of Thrones suits Tolkien at all, a television series, either live action or animated, would be the only way to get close to doing the book justice.
So, sounding like it would be fun, I decided to try my own hand at fitting the Silmarillion into seasons and episodes. I had to add things and cut things, but I tried to be as faithful as possible while expanding the material to fit into the constraints and requirements for television episodes. Now, this is not a pitch, nor is it a serious attempt at building support for a Silmarillion adaptation. I would not want Peter Jackson or Warner Bros. to get anywhere near The Silmarillion or Tolkien’s other books, nor would I want HBO to try their hand at it. This is something I did for fun, which I thought Tolkien fans might enjoy reading, giving feedback and thinking of how they might do it differently. Despite this, I would enjoy a Silmarillion TV series if done in association with the Tolkien Estate and given the respect it deserved, something that was not done with The Hobbit movies.
The series is split into six seasons, covering the entire Silmarillion with parts from Unfinished Tales and The History of Middle-Earth added. The six seasons are: The Fall of the Noldor, The Ruin of Beleriand, The Tale of Beren and Luthien, The Children of Hurin, The War of Wrath and Akallabeth.
Click on a season in the menu to read that season.
The Silmarillion Series 
Yes, I like true story “The Lord of the ring”-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10? ….I cry true story long movie perfect! Thank you Pete Jackson…..!
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I disagree, Peter Jackson omitted and warped Tolkien’s literary masterpiece into a Hollywood production. The Hobbit was worse!
Papa Tolkien would never have agreed and Christopher should be ashamed!
The “Rights” for the Tolkien timeline should never have been distorted to where it is now.
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Yea i think is a good idea,the silmarillion in a TV series,sounds great.
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very good idea and script but i agree with being maglor the one who tells the story but i think if maglor would of tell the story to elrond, it would be when elrond was a kid, because is too important for elrond not knowing about it for ages
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The point is that this would be the first time that Maglor told the ‘real story’ from his point of view to anyone still living in the Third Age. He would have told Elrond parts of his life during the time Elrond was fostered by him but not the full truth, especially not the parts about the Kinslayings. Elrond would know a lot of the First Age from accounts by Galadriel, Celebrimbor, Gil-Galad and so on but not from the more ‘grey’ point-of-view of the Sons of Feanor.
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The film adaptions of Tolkien’s works went down-hill from the First. Fellowship of the Ring was in part true to the plot and character motivations, although Boromir was a radical departure – but as the films went on they became more ‘action flicks’ then a presentation of the scope and grandeur of Tolkien’s vision.
The Hobbit was so bad that, after seeing the first, I did not bother with the rest. Jackson’s obsession with changing the plot and introducing unnecessary characters was too much to cope with, as a person who grew up loving the books and not ever expecting a film adaption.
There is an obsession these days for people to “see” their books. Well okay! See them in your mind! Your imagination is going to be one hundred times better than anything you see on screen.
Thankfully, the Tolkien family has seen that the Silmarillion should be left entirely alone. No film will be made. And for that I say, “thank Manwë and Varda!” (:P)
The Silmarillion was the work closest to Tolkien’s heart. We have already had Jackson (in his own words) “milk the scene” in every moment. The grace, subtlety and gravitas of The Silmarrillion would be trampled on beneath the grotesque, reeking Hollywood stench-stoked clod-boots of Jackson.
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Looks like they came up with your idea, Alan!
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Alan?
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Mr Parsons, sorry about the name slip up! Looks like they’re not making the Silmarillion next year, but that’s only guesswork and only involved parties know for sure. Speculation seems to be the spinoff series mentioned in the main announcement could very well be the Silmarillion. Perhaps they’re researching work like yours in preparation for the series right now!
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G’day,
Good luck on your venture. As a longtime Tolkien fan, I do like the idea of his work (especially the Silmarillion) presented in film. However, I’m not a fan of the movie product that was altered (butchered?) by Mr Jackson. The descendants, family, owners of Tolkein’s work should have the final say on this. That said, I do think that a series presentation format or approach, like George R R Martin’s Game of Thrones series would work and all the better if it stayed completely true to Tolkein’s vision. Good work, you seem to hold true in this. Telling the story from the perspective of the surviving son of Fearnor is quite a neat idea.
Regards,
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“Great is the Victory of the Noldor!”
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It looks like Net Flicks has acquired the rights to C.S. Lewis’s works – “The Chronicles of Narnia”. (This would be the first time that all 7 books may be included.) It sounds like they plan to do some type of series – especially after the success of HBO’s “Game of Thrones”. Though “Jack” is a fellow inkling and has a different body of literary work, it will be interesting to see how faithful they stay to the books, especially since the previous movies also took license with the author’s words. I understand that the stepson, Douglas Gresham will more involved. I hope so, for the sake of book series like Tolkien’s middle earth.
I too would love to see a series that faithfully and carefully filmed the Silmarillion – but NOT at the expense and rightly said of “butchering” that happened with the films.
I have not read the books, “Game of Thrones”. But I understand that the series departed from the books very early and created story lines apart from the books. If so, than it doesn’t bode well for any book series. Sadly, In my opinion, book series should be left alone unless producers/movie writers are forced to submit more than 90% of the material directly from the books and NOTHING new is added. (Like a character, story line, a love interest – when it’s clearly not in the book, etc.)
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Did you think about maybe adding a season about the 3rd age before the hobbit? You could have episodes following the history of Gondor (Great plague, kin-strife, war with angmar, end of the line of kings , etc) as well as other major events like the founding of Rohan, division and fall of Arnor, and the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. Or is there just not enough material about that period available?
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