I wonder if Netflix or other streaming services would have produced something vastly different. Tolkien wrote so much it really could do with more exploration.
Also if you're selling it in a movie format, you have to be able to bring in the general masses. That means cutting down a lot of the intricacies.
I am really hoping they film it with similar production values to The Man in the High Castle. I think the pacing, and the mix of reality and fantasy, in that would suit LOTR really well.
Also if you're selling it in a movie format, you have to be able to bring in the general masses. That means cutting down a lot of the intricacies.