Lord of the Rings TV series gets multi-season order at Amazon

[Morthoron]

The press release specifically states:

"...Amazon studios have exceptional ideas to bring to the screen previously unexplored stories based on J.R.R. Tolkien's original writings...Set in Middle-earth, the television adaptation will explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring.”

The bold sections are my emphasis. It will not be The Silmarillion, because the Tolkien Estate has not made any statement regarding the sale of separate media rights to that book, of which Christopher Tolkien is technically co-author. So, prior to FotR, post-Silmarillion, with no mention of The Hobbit as a precursor to LotR whatsoever.

What is one left with then? Look to HoMe, and the Unfinished Tales, specifically Part III and Part IV dealing with the Third Age but divorced from the LotR Appendices in most instances. This fits the modus operandi of "unexplored stories" and "new storylines...preceding FotR", but does not require selling media rights to The Sil, and does not interfere with separate rights held by Tolkien Enterprises (Saul Zaentz) who own the multimedia rights to The Hobbit and LotR.