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THE HOBBIT NEWS

Is Peter Jackson Really Hinting At Making a Third 'Hobbit' Movie?

by Alex Billington
July 16, 2012
Source: HitFix, ComingSoon

"Never laugh at live dragons, Bilbo you fool!" What's going on here? Over the weekend while at Comic-Con, I started reading reports & hearing rumors about Peter Jackson hinting at a third Hobbit movie. The quotes are coming from a number of various interviews Peter Jackson conducted while at Comic-Con in San Diego, speaking with online press about The Hobbit, who drilled him about shooting scenes and additional work. In the Hall H presentation, they showed a video blog of the last days of the main shoot, making me wonder why they would all of a sudden want to pick up and start shooting again. Maybe it was so much fun.

The first quote from Peter Jackson that set this thing ablaze came from HitFix, where they asked him straight up if they might split the second film, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, into two. "That's a discussion we're having, yeah," he said. "We have certainly been talking to the studio about some of the material we can't film, and we've been asking them so we can do a bit more filming next year. Which, I don't know what would come of that, whether it'd be Extended Editions or whatnot. But those discussions are ongoing." Interesting. These kind of quotes set the internet abuzz, and as other press started to hear about this, they would follow-up as well. Here's the real hint via HitFix as to where all this might be coming from:

"I'd like to shoot a bunch more material that we [couldn't] shoot. There's so much good stuff in the appendices that we haven't been able to squeeze into these movies," Jackson said, referring to the appendix sections found at the end of The Return of the King detailing more background on Middle Earth and its history.

That's not all, though, as Jackson also followed-up with another quote on ComingSoon. He spoke with them about how nothing is confirmed or set or even happening yet, but of course the rumor mill is now buzzing. Might they split into two? Would that be bad? Could it just be part of Extended Editions? Who knows what will happen, as they're just finishing up production and only now beginning the very long post-production process, with the first movie The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey getting ready for theaters this December. Jackson goes on to explain in more detail what he's considering with this third one:

"It's very premature. I mean we have an incredible source material with the appendices because 'The Hobbit' is obviously a novel but we also have the rights to use this 125 pages of additional notes where Tolkien expanded the world of 'The Hobbit' published at the end of 'Return of the King' and we've used some of it so far and just in the last few weeks as we've been wrapping up the shooting and thinking about the shape of the story, Fran and I have been talking to the studio about other things we haven't been able to shoot and seeing if we persuade them to do a few more weeks of shooting, probably more than a few weeks actually, next year. And what form that would actually end up taking, well the discussions are pretty early. So there isn't really anything to report but there's other parts of the story that we'd like to tell that we haven't been able to tell yet."

That's all we've really have from PJ at the moment, other than that it's wait and see. He already explains where they're hoping to draw from, for those questioning how they could split and fill it up, but reiterates: "We've used more source material than The Hobbit. For instance in The Hobbit when Gandalf mysteriously disappears for chapters, it was never really explained where he's gone. Much later Tolkien filled in those details. In these appendices he did talk about what happened. And it was all together a lot darker and more serious than what is written in The Hobbit. And also to be honest I want to make a series of movies that run together so if any crazy lunatic wants to watch them all in a row there will be a consistency to it, a consistency of tone." Did he just say that? Because I'm definitely one of those crazy lunatics doing this.

One thing I will say, watching the video blog he showed at Comic-Con, it's certain everyone working on the film seemed to have an amazing experience. They're all one big family, who came together and put their hearts into making something that will fill all of us with wonder and amazement over the next few years. Maybe it was such a fantastic experience they're happy to go back and keep shooting, why not? If they've got the money, the time, the material, the interest, the passion, go for it. As a die-hard fan myself, I am more than happy to spend as much time in Middle Earth as Mr. Jackson will allow. We'll have to see. Thoughts?

Filed under Discuss, Hobbit, Movie News, Rumors

From around the web:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=807010553 Charles Oosterhouse

I'd rather see two, just so I won't have to wait to finish his telling of this story. But if he did three, then its more awesomeness to watch. So I don't care either way lol.
http://www.quanahblogs.com/ Quanah

Bring it. Let's see 14 more Hobbit films.
DAVIDPD

It would be quite incredible if he pushed out another film. But I think it will just be more special features on the BluRay. Which I ain't mad at either.
argharbh

For Christs sake!Just film The Silmarillion already!There's enough material there for an entire series!
- LosZombies
  
  Pff....as much as I would LOVE to see The Silmarillion come to life, that bastard Chris Tolkien just wont let up on it, I think he still owns the rights to it, and Im pretty sure he hates all of PJ's adaptations...
- David Banner
  
  The Silmarillion.... Well now, I don't think we'll see this in the near future, and if we do, it should be 3-6 three hour movies-at least. It's huge, vast, and not for new readers of fantasy-and it was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay; not by J.R.R. Tolkien; so we have no idea how it really should have ended up as.
  - 69
    
    A tv series in the vain of Game of Thrones on HBO. Or an animated series with different artist and style for each story.Something like Studio Ghibli or Ralph Bakshi and Frank Frazetta. Or maybe a mixture of both. Definitely not a generic anime style like Naruto and similar.
beevis

well - why they're at it, they might as well go back and do a 4th LotR movie.....there was a boatload of content (from the books) that wasn't covered.
Kudsk

Maybe scenes for expanded edition?
LosZombies

As long as he sticks with the Appendices, I wouldnt mind seeing more
http://lacuria.com/ Carlos Subero

I dont know... I have notice (I have a movies website myself too) that people are not nearly as excited to watch The Hobbit as they were with LOTR... Is it just me? Im dying to see it, dont get me wrong, but I mean the general audience.
- Waffles
  
  When 'Fellowship' first came out, it was mostly die-hard LOTR fans who were so excited to see the movie. The rest were drawn in by word of mouth or the epic-looking commercials in the weeks leading up to its release. It wasn't until after that first movie was such a success that it became such a mainstream phenomenon. I suspect the same is going to unfold with this saga. We're still 5 months out from the release of the first part; most of the buzz is limited to big movie buffs or big 'Hobbit' fans (like myself). I'm sure things will pick up in November as they saturate television and the internet with commercials and trailers, and if the first movie is half as awesome as we all expect/hope, the next film (or two) will surely have be huge. Finally, I think there is also a sentiment that The Hobbit is just the "little brother" of LOTR, an inconsequential prequel about a midget hangin' out in the shire. When the average Joe realizes there's more to it than that, I think it will also help improve excitement.
David Banner

This is "semi-new" news. When Jackson first announced The Hobbit, it was a two part'er that made my eyes roll: In the original plan: The first movie was an adaption from the book(The Hobbit novel=1 movie), the second film was "to fill the 70, 80 year gap between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring". New plan: Now we have the book split into two movies(The Hobbit novel =2 movies), and they are spreading the desire to make a third movie based on the first plan, the "what happened between the books idea". They have all ready "fleshed out" The Hobbit with stories/ideas based on the appendices in LotR and events mentioned in passing in LotR; is there that much left for a third movie? It's as if the studio said "no", many years ago, and Jackson is being a naughty boy by saying they want to make this third movie, by the mean studio is saying no. The fans cry! The studio finally buckles and says yes... If you also add the fact they are INVENTING NEW (female) CHARACTERS AND ADDING THEM TO THE STORY(opps, caps), you might get a bit worried; if you are a diehard fan. Last time (LotR), they "deleted" characters from the story and gave other characters their lines. OK, Tolkien didn't have many female characters in his story-it says something about the world he wrote about, not his beliefs; and I do not like that they are doing this. J.R.R. Tolkiens work is near perfection, don't mess with it! A third movie based on the appendices would be interesting-but they are appendices, notes; is there really a story here worthy of a movie? I want these movies to be as fantastic as the books when I read them, basing a third movie on the appendices seems like a cashgrab? The Hobbit is a short book, having two movies is a financial choice, a third might be testing the fans. I do want this, but I see this more as additions to an extended Blu-Ray boxset, rather then a third movie? If the two first movies based on The Hobbit were a "pure adaption" of The Hobbit, I would not mind the shenanigans of inventing new characters-if they were in a third movie, that is based on the appendices, and what Jackson and Walsh dream up. They could even add Tom Bombadil here(they are adding Radagast to The Hobbit...so), and all the other stuff they left out of their adaptions of LotR. Jackson in hindsight probably "regrets" he didn't split LotR into 6 movies(each book is actually two books), and this is why they landed on two movies of The Hobbit. And yes, I have actually read the appendices, and all books published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien-they are not worthy of J.R.R. Tolkien. But I'm not gunna start on Chris Tolkien. Or The Silmarillion-but I will say, if Jackson want's to adapt The Silmarillion aswell, it will take him a decade or so; maybe suited for his twilight years.