Peter Jackson to produce The Hobbit & Sequel (Director for both announced)

[statman0007]

Peter Jackson will be rejoining up with New Line Cinema and MGM to make The Hobbit and a sequel to The Hobbit. Apparently Peter Jackson has settled his dispute with New Line and they're ready to start making movies together again. The Hobbit is slated for a 2010 release with the sequel in 2011.

 

I'm a big fan of the LOTR series, but I don't think these films will be anywhere near as popular as the trilogy was. Also, I'm not really sure what the whole sequel thing is about. I'm curious if they're going to break The Hobbit up into two stories or if it will be brand new material. Should be interesting to see what they come up with at least.

[Invader3K]

Now they just need to do "The Silmarillion" (sp?) and they'll be all set.

[RyDogg66]

I guess they just figured that if Weekend At Bernies can get sequel, anything can, so why wait to announce it. They are just preparing for the inevitable.

[And That]

Now they just need to do "The Silmarillion" (sp?) and they'll be all set.

I've only read part of it, but the most they could do with this, IMO, is take out a few parts and make a story around that. Any sort of linear movie about the whole book would be impossible, so I'm told.

 

[Invader3K]

Yeah...honestly, I tried reading it a few years back, and it's fairly laborious to get through. More of a poem than a story, if that makes sense.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Unless you're an absolutely huge, die-hard Tolkien fan, the Silmarillion is an incredibly, tough, dry read. It's not really entertaining, it gives you the story in a very fact based, non-exciting way. It almost reads like a documentary.

[OldHoss]

I thought I read that Jackson is only producing the movies. My understanding is that a director for the movies has not yet been named.

[statman0007]

I think you're right; if I remember correctly Jackson will be producing. Sorry about the mix-up.

[bjkrautk]

Apparently New Line has finally remembered that they like making money.

 

After the rest of the movies they've released in 2007, I just assumed they had forgotten that part...

http://www.firstshowing.net/2007/12/09/the-golden-compass-bombs-is-this-the-death-of-new-line-cinema/

[Katuluu]

Currently the plan is to break up The Hobbit into 2 films. Not quite sure how they will pull it off though, since Smaug and The Battle of 5 Armies both happen towards the end of the book. I guess you could end the first part after Mirkwood, but that would make for a fairly uneventful first film IMO and then you'd need to really stretch out the Lonely Mountain and battle sequences.

[logan82]

Now they just need to do "The Silmarillion" (sp?) and they'll be all set.

 

That could be made into several movies.

 

I thought the sequal to the Hobbit was Fellowship of the Ring.

[Team Canada]

So excited..

[DuWayne Steurer]

It'll be interesting to see how this gets cast. Ian McKellen as Gandalf again is almost a necessity. I don't know who else could play that character with so much depth.

 

Ian Holm is getting a bit long in the tooth to reprise his role as Bilbo, especially when Bilbo is considerably younger in this story than he was in LOTR. (61 years younger, IIRC). I would imagine the "trick photography" will be a lot easier to pull off this time, as much of the screen time should be filled with dwarves and hobbits, and there won't be so many problems with forced perspective camera work.

[bjkrautk]

It'll be interesting to see how this gets cast. Ian McKellen as Gandalf again is almost a necessity. I don't know who else could play that character with so much depth.

 

Ian Holm is getting a bit long in the tooth to reprise his role as Bilbo, especially when Bilbo is considerably younger in this story than he was in LOTR. (61 years younger, IIRC). I would imagine the "trick photography" will be a lot easier to pull off this time, as much of the screen time should be filled with dwarves and hobbits, and there won't be so many problems with forced perspective camera work.

I think they could cast a new Bilbo Baggins, so long as the voice / appearance was close enough. Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving (Elrond) and Andy Serkis (Smeagol) are the only characters that I can think of who "must" return in their roles. (I wouldn't be surprised if Cate Blanchette &/or Liv Tyler reprised their roles in cameo appearances, especially if the story needs to be stretched out.)

[colbyjack]

That's great news. I'm excited to see what they come up with.

 

As for the actor that played Bilbo, I remember bringing this up in a similar thread a year or two ago. I still share that concern, but as Katuluu pointed back then, Bilbo really didn't age from the time of the Hobbit to Fellow of the Ring due to his possession of the ring. He was already considered middle-aged IIRC in the Hobbit, and may be able to pull it off without too much makeup or trick camera work.

[Oldcity]

This is cool. I figured it would happen at some point, though wasn't sure if they'd have Jackson involved.

[Team Canada]

Currently the plan is to break up The Hobbit into 2 films. Not quite sure how they will pull it off though, since Smaug and The Battle of 5 Armies both happen towards the end of the book. I guess you could end the first part after Mirkwood, but that would make for a fairly uneventful first film IMO and then you'd need to really stretch out the Lonely Mountain and battle sequences.

According to AICN, the first movie would be The Hobbit, and the sequel would be a bridge from that to LOTR, culled from all the various materials out there.

[DuWayne Steurer]

That's great news. I'm excited to see what they come up with.

 

As for the actor that played Bilbo, I remember bringing this up in a similar thread a year or two ago. I still share that concern, but as Katuluu pointed back then, Bilbo really didn't age from the time of the Hobbit to Fellow of the Ring due to his possession of the ring. He was already considered middle-aged IIRC in the Hobbit, and may be able to pull it off without too much makeup or trick camera work.

 

I'd really like to see Holm play Bilbo again, I just don't know if all the digital re-makeup would be worth it. Marking myself as a bit of a LOTR nerd here, but he's age 50 in the Hobbit, which is still relatively young (according to Tolkien) for that race, and of course, 111 during the birthday party in Fellowship. They did a great job in the opening sequence of FOTR of making Holm look much younger, I'm just not sure if that's feasible for what may be 6 or so hours of screen time. I hope it is, because Holm brought a great sense of depth to the character of Bilbo. Covetous, yet generous, cantankerous, yet kind.

 

[Oldcity]

According to AICN, the first movie would be The Hobbit, and the sequel would be a bridge from that to LOTR, culled from all the various materials out there.

That's awesome! That sequel will be very cool.

 

[TerraceReserved]

According to AICN, the first movie would be The Hobbit, and the sequel would be a bridge from that to LOTR, culled from all the various materials out there.

 

 

Out of curiosity, is there enough good content in between the end of the hobbit to the beginning of LOTR? I'm sure some person who knows the books well knows the answer, but it seems to me after reading the 4 books that they'd be stretching for content for a sequel. I haven't read any Tolkens other stuff, but is there any really solid adventure/battle type stuff that would be interesting enough to make an entire movie out of?

[logan82]

The only thing I recall happening after the Hobbit, but before LOTR would be the White Council meeting and driving Sauron out of Mirkwood. Maybe the rebuilding of Erebor and Laketown. They could hovever make a pretty good couple movies out of the elves leaving the blessed land(can't remember the name off the top of my head) and trying to reaquire the Silmarils from Melkor.(I know I probably spelled something wrong in there.) We would get to see Galadriel traveling over the ice with the elves that Feanor left behind. The only problem is that there are so many smaller stories woven together that it would be a huge mess.

[And That]

I too hope they use Ian Holm. Not only to retain continuity, but because he did such a good job giving Bilbo's character some depth in the films - almost more than he had in the book. I don't see it as an unimaginable stretch to get him dolled up enough to look younger than he did in the LOTR trilogy. Assuming Mr. Holm would be willing to do it, of course.

[berniebrewer4life]

Now they just need to do "The Silmarillion" (sp?) and they'll be all set.

Not as long as Chris Tolkien is around they won't. He has vowed not to allow any movie to be based off of that book. As for the sequel he is making, i heard they are just going to break up the hobbit into two movies.

[berniebrewer4life]

Currently the plan is to break up The Hobbit into 2 films. Not quite sure how they will pull it off though, since Smaug and The Battle of 5 Armies both happen towards the end of the book. I guess you could end the first part after Mirkwood, but that would make for a fairly uneventful first film IMO and then you'd need to really stretch out the Lonely Mountain and battle sequences.

My guess is that they will break it up either right after they get captured, or when they arrive at Beorn's house.

[Fatter than Joey]

Cool I heard Leonard Nimoy is doing the soundtrack