The Lord of the Rings (film series) September 2009, the dispute was settled. The success of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy led to Jackson directing a trilogy of prequels based on Tolkien's children's book "The Hobbit". The films, which were released between 2012 and 2014, used much of the cast and crew of "The Lord of the Rings", including Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood, Ian Holm (as older Bilbo), Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett and Orlando Bloom who reprised their roles. Although the "Hobbit" films were even more commercially successful than "The Lord of the Rings", they received mixed reviews from critics. Numerous video
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II agreement gave Electronic Arts the rights to build video games based on "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy. The new deal gives Electronic Arts the opportunity to create video games with original stories tied closely with the "Lord of the Rings" universe. In the same announcement, Electronic Arts revealed two games that its EA Los Angeles division would be developing with the license: "The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II" for Windows—a sequel to ""—and "" for the PlayStation Portable. On November 10, 2005, Electronic Arts announced that Hugo Weaving, who played Elrond in the "Lord