The Lord of the Rings trilogy were an incredible accomplishment in film making featuring an exceptional ensemble cast, dazzling visual effects and a narrative continuity that was a testament to the magnitude of the production with each film being shot back to back over 2 years. The development time of the films was considerably longer and the prospect of director Peter Jackson making a follow up story was less appealing to him considering the enormity of bringing the fantasy realm to life.
Peter Jackson & Guillermo Del Toro
JRR Tolkien‘s The Lord of the Rings were a follow up to his initial novel The Hobbit which is considered to be a children’s novel in tone and less dense than the Rings story. It follows the Bilbo Baggins character from his initial acquisition of the ring to his encounter with the character Gollum and the eventual battle with Smaug the Dragon.
The studios were always interested in another film set in the world of Middle Earth however the project would be significantly complex to realize so Jackson sought the talents of another director with whom he could collaborate and who shared his creativity and flair for design. That filmmaker was the Mexican born Guillermo del Toro whose trademark flamboyant visuals and artistry appealed to Jackson’s sensibilities confident he could bring the necessary style to the project. The Hellboy director worked closely on the script and visuals for the last 2 years but the drawn out production schedule and financial woes of the studios saw an overlap into his other projects forcing him to leave in May. Other factors such as the ongoing union strike of actors in New Zealand has made the production consider moving and are said to be scouting alternative locations in Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Australia and eastern Europe.
Guillermo Del Toro was asked by MTV in July who he would like to see take over the project:
Me, like any other geek, I really want to see Peter do the movie…At this stage, you need somebody that has been involved in all the stages, that has been writing. The logical person to take over is Peter.
Now comes word that after being in development for so long and without the official green-light, a deal has been made that will see Peter Jackson helm The Hobbit prequel story which is planned as two films.
This is fantastic news for Rings fans and whilst Del Toro has considerable talent, some of his films are inaccessible to audiences such as his wildly uneven Pan’s Labyrinth which was an extremely dark and at times horrifically nightmarish fantasy story. Jackson on the other hand who has displayed similarly dark overtones in his films has a deft touch in knowing what sits well with audiences and his visual and stylistic approach will make the Hobbit immensely successful and be on a par with The Lord of the Rings. Most fans had always hoped that he would helm The Hobbit since he did such an amazing job with the Rings films and his narrative style is one of a visionary filmmaker that towers over the talents of Del Toro.
Gandalf the wizard played by Ian McKellen is set to reprise his role, and the part of Bilbo Baggins who was played by Ian Holm was offered to Martin Freeman though his current commitment to the U.K’s Sherlock, a modern day retelling of the famed detective has derailed those plans, but since the seasons are short it’s possible scheduling can be worked out. Andy Serkis the motion capture actor extraordinaire will likely return as Gollum, as will Cate Blanchett as Galadriel.
At this stage with initial development costs and the proposed budget of shooting the two films back to back, its rumored the Hobbit will be the most expensive films made to date with the cost set to be around $500 million. There was also the issue of the heir of Tolkien’s estate threatening to halt production due to some creative accounting on the Rings films which saw less financial return but those issues would seem to have been quietly resolved.
New Line cinema and parent company Warner Bros made the announcement over the weekend and were thrilled at the prospect of the new films with Jackson as director. Warner Brothers president Alan Horn made a statement:
There is no human being on the planet as qualified as Peter Jackson to direct these films…Peter is incredibly talented and has the creative vision and experience to bring this beloved property to life in a way that no other filmmaker could.
The announcement also stated that Jackson “will utilize groundbreaking visual effects” for the Hobbit and will be filmed in the new digital 3-D format along with recent news that the Lord of the Rings trilogy would be converted to 3d for future release editions.
If production commences early next year as expected The Hobbit is due to open in December 2012, with the second part following a year later.
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