Middle-earth in motion pictures

J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954–55), set in his fictional world of Middle-earth, have been the subject of numerous motion picture adaptations across film and television. Tolkien was skeptical of the prospects of an adaptation. The rights to adapt his works passed through the hands of several studios, having been briefly leased to Rembrandt Films before being sold perpetually to United Artists, who then passed them in part to Saul Zaentz who operated the rights under Middle-earth Enterprises. During this time, filmmakers who attempted to adapt Tolkien's works include William Snyder, Peter Shaffer, John Boorman, Ralph Bakshi, Peter Jackson, and Guillermo del Toro.