The Lord of the Rings is quite a diverse franchise, at least in terms of the themes and genres it dabbles in. Debuting with 1937's The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings franchise began life as a piece of children's literature that contained some darker moments, but primarily remained a lighthearted adventure. The Lord of the Rings trilogy, on the other hand, is a dense epic that tackles themes of religion, mortality, power, and corruption.