Is Jackson’s The Hobbit Set To Become A Trilogy?

Just as we’ve become used to filmmakers creating two films out of one book (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay) – purely for storytelling purposes, you understand, and not for Hollywood to make more money – comes the news that Peter Jackson and Warners are considering turning The Hobbit into three movies.

And since the principal photography on the first two movies has already wrapped (and with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey due in cinemas this December) yes, that would mean extra footage being shot next year. Partially the reason, it seems, is that Jackson wants to film various of JJR Tolkien’s Middle-earth tales that appear in The Lord Of The Rings appendices and The Silmarillion, which would help to flesh out the the story of The Hobbit, and position it more squarely as a prequel (both in terms of storytelling and stylistically) to The Lord Of The Rings movies.

Peter Jackson first hinted at San Diego Comic-Con that he wanted to shoot more footage for The Hobbit films, and now The Hollywood Reporter claims that he and Warner Bros are getting serious about developing a third film.

The site’s Heat Vision column is reporting that Jackson would like to shoot additional footage next summer for about two months in New Zealand if Warners can be convinced the logistics can be sorted out. Those logistics include new contracts with the actors and sorting out the (very complicated) rights issues.

According to Heat Vision, “talks are said to have accelerated in recent days, with the studio on board if the right financial arrangements can be achieved.”

A source for the trade added, “If we’re going to do it, we have to make a decision soon. It’s strongly driven by the filmmakers’ desire to tell more of the story. It’s about taking the chance to tell more of the incredible tale with the cast we have assembled.”

At Comic-Con Jackson gave a clue about his expansion ideas: “For instance, in The Hobbit where Gandalf mysteriously disappears for chapters on end and it’s not really explained in any detail where he’s gone, much later Tolkien fleshed those out in these appendices,” he explained. “It was altogether a lot more dark and more serious than what was written in The Hobbit. And I do want to make a series of movies that run together so if any crazy lunatic wants to watch them all together in a row, there will be a consistency of tone.”

All of which sounds great, as long as it doesn’t turn out like cinemas only other previous prequel trilogy to a trilogy. Then again, we can’t imagine Gollum being recast as the new Jar Jar Binks…

Watch the latest The Hobbit production diary

Check out the impressive banner poster for The Hobbit

Sylvester McCoy talks about his casting in The Hobbit:

The trailer