The Star Wars fandom is currently experiencing somewhat of a crisis after the recent film and streaming offerings from Disney have proven to be below average. Furthermore, fan concerns have been exasperated with The Acolyte uniting the fanbase in their disapproval of the franchise’s direction under Disney.
Amidst the discourse surrounding Disney’s handling of the franchise, since acquiring it in 2012, fans took to social media and joked about what other established IPs the conglomerate could ruin. One meme predicting Disney taking over the Lord of the Rings franchise and also running it into the ground went viral in the process and here is what netizens had to say about the hilarious meme.
Meme Predicting Disney Taking Over Lord of the Rings Franchise Goes Viral
Disney acquired the rights to the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas in 2012 and has since produced a string of new projects. However, most of these projects have failed to connect with the audiences. As a result, fans have blamed Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and Disney overall for the franchise’s downfall.
In a recent post on Instagram, one user posted a meme that saw Disney taking over the beloved Lord of the Rings franchise. Based on the works of author J.R.R. Tolkien, the franchise has produced some of the most critically acclaimed epic fantasy live-action films. However, the fans joked that Disney could ruin that franchise as well if it ever got its hands on the source material.
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As the meme suggests, the user referenced the infamous “Somehow Palpatine has returned,” moment from The Rise of Skywalker, to joke about Disney potentially also ruining the Lord of the Rings. Furthermore, the meme also highlights Disney’s tendency to ignore existing lore, as evidenced by fan reaction to The Acolyte and its handling of the Star Wars canon.
Netizens React to Viral Meme Foreshadowing A Star Wars-like Fate For the Lord of the Rings
After the post went viral on social media, several netizens commented their own take on the hilarious prediction of Disney ruining another popular franchise. “Do not speak this evil into being,” one user commented on the meme, stating they did not wish for Disney to acquire the rights to Lord of the Rings.
Another user commented “Dear God no,” while one user stated “And we thought after Amazon it can’t be worse,” referencing the poor reception of Amazon’s adaption of the source material. Other users also joked about Disney’s wokeness and gender politics that had ruined Star Wars in the first place.
The rights to the J. R. R. Tolkien fantasy book series currently sit with Warner Bros and Amazon Prime Video. Therefore, it is unlikely that Disney will ever be able to acquire the rights to the Lord of the Rings franchise. However, stranger things have happened in the entertainment business, and Disney being able to license the rights to Spider-Man is just one example of the studio’s influence on the filmmaking landscape.
Ultimately, while the Lord of the Rings franchise is likely to remain out of Disney’s hands, the hilarious meme is an interesting depiction of fan opinion about Disney losing its charm at the box office and on the streaming side of things. The studio has become extremely IP-focused in recent years, and its poor handling of the Star Wars franchise is perfectly encapsulated in the meme.
The Lord of the Rings movies are streaming on Max.
