Warner Bros Pushes into Web3 with Lord of the Rings NFTs
Multimedia entertainment giant Warner Bros. Discovery has pushed into the booming Web3 industry with the launch of its Lord of the Rings non-fungible token (NFT) collection.
Dubbed The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the project is a collection of 10,999 digital collectibles meant to kick off the “WB Movieverse,” a new marketplace where fans will be able to buy, sell, and trade movie NFTs.
The NFTs effectively function as an all-in-one digital experience and each includes a 4K copy of the film, hours of bonus behind the scenes footage, lots of behind the scenes stills, and exclusive AR collectible assets inspired by the film.
The NFTs were created in partnership with Eluvio, a network billed as a content blockchain for the creator economy.
Starting October 21, 2022, fans can purchase the movie as a multimedia NFT that allows them to engage with the film through two dynamic menu options — The Mystery Edition and The Epic Edition, priced at $30 and $100, respectively.
Digital Ownership
NFTs and Web3, in general, do not have a rosy reputation among the general public. A major movie studio releasing one of the most popular and beloved IPs of all time as a multimedia NFT experience could do wonders to bring people into the space and destigmatize blockchain technology in general.
WBHE is aware of this fact. As such, the company has decided to make the process as easy as possible for non-Web3 insiders. Fans wishing to purchase the NFT can do so by going to web3.wb.com and creating an Eluvio media wallet by registering their email address (or logging in with their MetaMask wallet).
This acts as a digital vault that allows users to stream and purchase content with a credit card or cryptocurrency.
While the Warner Bros NFTs don’t promise holders any commercial use rights, each is essentially a digital-only DVD with more immersive and experiential menus and some exclusive AR assets like Gandalf’s wand, whose QR code can be scanned with a smartphone and examined in different real-world settings, like a Snapchat filter.
This is the studio’s first foray into offering feature films like NFT. Instead of buying movies on YouTube, Amazon, or Apple, customers can feel a greater sense of digital ownership by holding NFTs in their MetaMask wallets (although Warner and Eluvio also offer a custody option).
And users can buy LoTR NFTs with a credit card, USDC in Solana or Ethereum, ETH, or Bitcoin, something you can’t do through your Apple TV.
“Fans of The Lord of the Rings can now acquire, participate, and trade in an epic living media experience that will undoubtedly surprise and delight them,” said Eluvio CEO Michelle Munson. “It’s truly designed for a mass consumer audience, not just Web3 enthusiasts, which is why it should, and does, feel so remarkable and engaging.”
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