You could do an anthology series of stories around but not inside the narrative of the films, taking sort of the same approach as _Rogue One_ (the only good post-first-trilogy movie) did with Star Wars.
As you say, though, an end-to-end retelling of LoTR doesn't make much sense.
I would live it if someone did a really good anthology series based on the Silmarillion. Those were some epic stories that, if told fully, could easily rival the Lord of the Rings.
As you say, though, an end-to-end retelling of LoTR doesn't make much sense.