In celebration of their 20th anniversary, it appears that Empire Magazine is out to score some massive scoops, and massive scoops they hath scored indeed.
The publication spoke exclusively to both Peter Jackson and Guillermo Del Toro — the producing/directing duo behind the planned The Hobbit movie, as well as a second original movie bridging the gap between Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
Shockingly, the men had a big announcement to share with us. After much discussion, they decided that it would be in the best interest of all parties to make The Hobbit into two movies instead of trying to put it all into one film.
We’ve decided to have The Hobbit span the two movies, including the White Council and the comings and goings of Gandalf to Dol Guldur.
We decided it would be a mistake to try to cram everything into one movie. The essential brief was to do The Hobbit, and it allows us to make The Hobbit in a little more style, if you like, of the [LOTR] trilogy.
This could be either exciting or devastating, depending on who you are. Some people were thrilled at the thought of getting The Hobbit AND a second movie which would allow all of our favorite characters from The Lord of the Rings to make potential returns. Now, with this announcement, it’s expected that that bridge movie will probably just not be done at all. Some are all for this, as the plan was for the film makers to create their own story to bridge the two timelines. Personally, I’m rather sad. While I’ll take what’s coming with a giant smile, I also was really curious to see what Jackson and Del Toro could come up with for a new movie. If any could create an acceptable new story, it’d be those two lovable gents.
Keep in mind, there is no confirmation on that front. While it seems very much unlikely that Del Toro — with his 45 years worth of projects waiting for him — would be down for doing a third movie (which would most likely end up with a 2013-2014 release date), he may just surprise us and go for it if all goes well.
Another thing to consider is: even if Del Toro only does the two Hobbit pictures, that doesn’t necessarily mean that bridge movie won’t one day come around. The idea for it has most certainly been discussed many times, so do not be shocked to hear of maybe a new director being brought in for that, OR, maybe the return of a one Peter Jackson for nostalgia purposes. This is all just my dreaming, of course, but there are still many ways this could go.
For now, fans of The Hobbit can rejoice, as their precious story will now have two feature length movies of its own!
