683 Minutes Of 1080p Fantasy..?
When the Lord of the Rings trilogy was released on Blu-ray last year it was solely the theatrical editions, naturally causing disappointment for fans. The LOTR DVD releases really set the standard for double-dipping back in the earlier days of DVD, so it’s not as if there was any chance the Blu-ray releases wouldn’t follow the same pattern though. However! There’s a chance it seems, that the studio wont be soaking that double dip for as long as you might have expected. The Digital Bits, a stripped-down and straightforward DVD site, is reporting that Warner’s in-house releasing line for New Line titles is planning a 2011 release for Extended Edition Blu-Rays for the entire trilogy….
Frankly, had it been left to me to guess, I would have pegged Warner’s as wanting to hold off on those Blu’s for another year, in order to maximize momentum for the franchise leading into the release of The Hobbit. That’s said, there’s certainly no strategic disadvantage to letting those big pretty blu-rays sit on the shelves for an extra couple of months, giving everyone lots of time to pick them up and get excited again. Peter Jackson has enough unused behind-the-scenes footage to sustain a dozen of these releases, so at least there will always be something new coming with the upgrades- especially considering the 3D Blu-rays for LOTR will happen one day. And then Blu-ray releases for both Hobbit films. And then the ultimate One Collection To Rule Them All Complete Set in 2015 or whatever.
This is definitely unsubstantiated rumor at this point, but we should know within a few weeks if there are any definitive plans for such a release. Keep your fingers crossed, if you’re into this kind of thing…