Peter Jackson to Produce The Hobbit and Sequel!

[Chezzie]

Some exciting news! Check out the press release:

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson; Harry Sloan, Chairman and CEO, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM); Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne, Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs of New Line Cinema have jointly announced today that they have entered into the following series of agreements:

* MGM and New Line will co-finance and co-distribute two films, The Hobbit and a sequel to The Hobbit. New Line will distribute in North America and MGM will distribute internationally.

* Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh will serve as Executive Producers of two films based on The Hobbit. New Line will manage the production of the films, which will be shot simultaneously.

* Peter Jackson and New Line have settled all litigation relating to the "Lord of the Rings" (LOTR) Trilogy.

Said Peter Jackson, "I'm very pleased that we've been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line. 'The Lord of the Rings' is a legacy we proudly share with Bob and Michael, and together, we share that legacy with millions of loyal fans all over the world. We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth. I also want to thank Harry Sloan and our new friends at MGM for helping us find the common ground necessary to continue that journey."

"Peter Jackson has proven himself as the filmmaker who can bring the extraordinary imagination of Tolkien to life and we full heartedly agree with the fans worldwide who know he should be making 'The Hobbit'" said Sloan, MGM's Chairman and CEO. "Now that we are all in agreement on 'The Hobbit,' we can focus on assembling the production team that will capture this phenomenal tale on film."

Bob Shaye, New Line Co-Chairman and Co-CEO comments, "We are very pleased we have been able to resolve our differences, and that Peter and Fran will be actively and creatively involved with 'The Hobbit' movies. We know they will bring the same passion, care and talent to these films that they so ably accomplished with 'The Lord of the Rings' Trilogy."

"Peter is a visionary filmmaker, and he broke new ground with 'The Lord of the Rings,'" notes Michael Lynne, New Line Co-Chairman and Co-CEO. "We're delighted he's back for 'The Hobbit' films and that the Tolkien saga will continue with his imprint. We greatly appreciate the efforts of Harry Sloan, who has been instrumental in helping us reach our new accord."

The two "Hobbit" films – The Hobbit and its sequel – are scheduled to be shot simultaneously, with pre-production beginning as soon as possible. Principal photography is tentatively set for a 2009 start, with the intention of The Hobbit release slated for 2010 and its sequel the following year, in 2011.

The Oscar-winning, critically-acclaimed LOTR Trilogy grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box-office. In 2003, "Return of the King" swept the Academy Awards, winning all of the eleven categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture – the first ever Best Picture win for a fantasy film. The Trilogy's production was also unprecedented at the time.

For more information about "The Hobbit" films, visit TheHobbitBlog.com.

So, what are your thoughts on this?

Apparently it is an original sequel to the The Hobbit but a prequel to Lord of the Rings.

[Imladris]

The Hobbit is a wonderful book so should translate well into a film, Peter Jackson did an amazing job with the Lord of the Rings. Not quite convinced about the idea of two Hobbit films though but will be looking forward to them.

[Chezzie]

I think there's VERY little chance that "sequel" refers to some newly-created story. The most likely explanation by far is that The Hobbit story is simply divided over two films. ... The only other sort of "sequel" I can even imagine would be if they were making a film of one/some of the "untold tales," maybe The Silmarillion but I seriously doubt they'd have failed to mention the title by name if they were actually doing that.

Doing a "prequel" story later can always, I suppose, present some issues with crossover characters. Gandalf's certainly no problem though: You MUST have Ian McKellen in the role, obviously; and the Gandalf character was old in TH and in LOTR, so there shouldn't be any problem at all with his look just because McKellen has aged. Got to have Serkis as Gollum; but Gollum's CGI, so no worries there. Bilbo however, I would think, would have to be re-cast; The Hobbit's Bilbo will need to be significantly younger. Ian Holm was passable with a darker wig and a little tape holding back his wrinkles for the snippet flashback scene of Bilbo finding the ring in Gollum's cave at the beginning of Fellowship; but having aged an additional decade by the time The Hobbit gets made, I don't think there's any way Holm could fit the bill of young Bilbo as the center of attention in two feature films.

... And assuming there is a new Bilbo for TH, then I suppose the only question is, will Jackson pull a George Lucas and put out a "Special Edition" of the LOTR trilogy with the new Bilbo replacing Holm in that flashback snippet of Bilbo first finding the ring in Fellowship?

[Imladris]

Agreed, Ian Holm will just be too old for Bilbo, sadly because he 'is' Bilbo.



Andy Serkis is irreplaceable, that man was brilliant as Gollum. The dwarves will be interesting seeing as how they look so similar it will be hard to tell them apart!

[Galbally]

I wonder would they ever try the Silmarillion, that would be a tough one as its a collection of stories from the first age of Middle earth that spans about 4,500 years, still if anyone could do it then it would be Peter Jackson, I though his cinema versions of the Lord of the Rings were extraordinary.

[HumanBeast]

God help him. When I saw the animated Hobbit movie years ago, I felt very nauseous.