This is so ****ing stupid.
What makes Game of Thrones so popular isn't that it's simply action/fantasy. It's all the intangibles, including the cast, writing, direction, etc. Also, we have no idea how it's going to end. We watch to see who's going to win the game and how.
Who the hell would watch a LOTR show this soon after they bloated the hell out of that franchise theatrically? I loved the originals - the first two, in particular (though I walked out 20 minutes into the first Hobbit movie and never saw another one) - but there is just no way I'd sit through that entire story again.
Granted, it's been nearly 14 years since The Return of the King hit theaters, and it would likely be another three before this ever saw the light of day, but still. Neither the books nor the movies warrant an update in any way. It all just feels so damn exhausting at this point.