There are very few unresolved issues left in the LOTR to require a
sequal. All the baddies are gone and the heroes have been duly
rewarded. Therefore, any sequal would have the feel of one of those cheap
star wars paperbacks you buy at Walmart that kind of cheapens the mythology of
original story. Any new story would need to actually add to the
mythology in a significant way. For instance, you could have a story
expanding the minor charactors of the story..for instance, an Arwen/Faramir
story. However, the antagonist they face wuld need to be considerably
less than any antagonist in LOTR.
OTOH, there is alot of room in the books for greater character development and
story generation within the scope of the novels. Peter Jackson did this
by expanding on the Boromir/Faramir storyline and showing us their victory in
Osgilioth. A great unwritten story exists in Boromir's trip from Minas
Tirith to Rivendell. It could be very Turin-esque...or Ulysses like..He
gets lost, fights battles, loses his horse..A nazgul pursues him on his trip,
he befriends an elf or something that helps him along the way and find
rivendell. Perhaps a son of elrond (chance to expand his character as
well). Perhaps Boromir sets off with a contingent of bodyguard and they
get slain along the way so he is the only survivor. Being the brave and
steadfast man that he is, he only mentions that is was a difficult journey.
The battles of Lorien and Erebor are also ripe for fleshing
out.
