Peter Jackson’s New Lord Of The Rings Movie Could Fix The Director’s Biggest Mistake

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Peter Jackson has talked about potentially creating another film set in the universe of The Lord of the Rings, and this might give him a chance to fix what he considers his biggest regret. He’s famous for directing both the original Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit prequel trilogy, making some of the most beloved fantasy films ever.

Despite some mixed reactions, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 is performing well on Prime Video, proving audiences still love Middle-earth. However, this new series, while visually similar to Peter Jackson’s films, doesn’t share the same storyline or continuity.

The films are produced by New Line Cinema, which is part of Warner Bros., and the studio is actively developing new installments. The latest release is the anime film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, and fans can also look forward to live-action movies like The Hunt for Gollum and Shadow of the Past.

While still connected to Peter Jackson’s original Lord of the Rings films, recent reports indicate another long-discussed project might be happening. If Jackson directs it, he’ll have a chance to fix what many fans consider the biggest flaw in the world of Middle-earth so far.

Peter Jackson Tried To Make Too Many Films Out Of The Hobbit

A common criticism of Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Hobbit is that it attempted to expand a relatively short story into an unnecessarily long series. The Hobbit is significantly shorter than The Lord of the Rings, and many felt stretching it into three films was a mistake.

The decision to move forward seemed to be based more on money than artistic vision. Although only The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey earned over $1 billion worldwide, the other films in the series also performed very well, each making over $950 million, which supported the large investment.

Although the Hobbit films still offer plenty to enjoy, it’s noticeable that director Peter Jackson didn’t seem as passionate about them as he was with The Lord of the Rings. While the movies did incorporate extra content from Tolkien’s world, it wasn’t enough to fully succeed, mainly because of a lack of a consistent creative direction.

Guillermo Del Toro was originally set to direct The Hobbit, and significant work had already been done on the film when he decided to leave. This unexpected change meant Peter Jackson had to step in as director quickly, despite initially intending to just produce. Ultimately, the movie felt disjointed and rushed due to a lack of a clear creative vision and a very tight filming schedule.

Jackson Has Suggested That He May Be Developing A Silmarillion Film

With other filmmakers exploring stories connected to The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson shared that the rights to more of J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings might become available soon, thanks to changes within the Tolkien estate. This could open the door for Jackson to finally adapt Tolkien’s epic work, The Silmarillion.

New Line Cinema secured the rights to make films based on The Lord of the Rings in 1998 and The Hobbit in 2023. However, other works by J.R.R. Tolkien that were published after his death, such as The Silmarillion, haven’t been licensed for adaptation. These rights were held by his son, Christopher Tolkien, who played a key role in completing and releasing those books.

Christopher Tolkien, son of J.R.R. Tolkien, wasn’t a fan of Peter Jackson’s films and didn’t want to see any further adaptations of his father’s writings. But after his death in 2020, the ownership of the Tolkien estate shifted, and now discussions are taking place about making new films based on these stories – something that wasn’t possible before.

The Silmarillion Must Be Adapted In Unique, Self-Contained Pieces

When it comes to adapting The Silmarillion, filmmakers should avoid the mistakes made with The Hobbit trilogy. Instead of trying to cram everything into one massive, drawn-out series of films, a fresh approach is needed. Luckily, The Silmarillion isn’t a story that lends itself to a straightforward, literal adaptation anyway.

Many stories within The Silmarillion span huge periods of time and could each become their own fantastic Middle-earth movie. The tale of Beren and Lúthien, inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s romance with his wife Edith, would be especially well-suited as a single, grand epic film.

While some of these stories have the potential to be expanded, doing so could be a gamble. The Quenta Silmarillion, for example, could work as a film series, but it might be better to tell each story on its own. The story of Fëanor and the Silmarils could be one movie, and The Fall of Númenor could be another.

It’s understandable to be concerned about the direction of The Lord of the Rings. However, the new films, particularly The Hunt for Gollum, suggest the studio is moving towards telling stories in Middle-earth as a series of connected episodes. This is a promising sign for potential adaptations of The Silmarillion.

Franchises are successful in movies, so it’s understandable that New Line is considering a long-running series based on a grand, connected story – it makes sense creatively and could be very profitable. But the new Lord of the Rings films should learn from previous attempts. The Silmarillion is too complex to be made into a single movie or series; its stories would work better if told one at a time.

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2026-05-24 22:31