The Hobbit is a Trilogy
It is official now, The Hobbit is a trilogy. Peter Jackson made this announcement on his Facebook page this morning:
It is only at the end of a shoot that you finally get the chance to sit down and have a look at the film you have made. Recently Fran, Phil and I did just this when we watched for the first time an early cut of the first movie – and a large chunk of the second. We were really pleased with the way the story was coming together, in particular, the strength of the characters and the cast who have brought them to life. All of which gave rise to a simple question: do we take this chance to tell more of the tale? And the answer from our perspective as the filmmakers, and as fans, was an unreserved ‘yes.’
We know how much of the story of Bilbo Baggins, the Wizard Gandalf, the Dwarves of Erebor, the rise of the Necromancer, and the Battle of Dol Guldur will remain untold if we do not take this chance. The richness of the story of The Hobbit, as well as some of the related material in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, allows us to tell the full story of the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and the part he played in the sometimes dangerous, but at all times exciting, history of Middle-earth.
So, without further ado and on behalf of New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Wingnut Films, and the entire cast and crew of “The Hobbit” films, I’d like to announce that two films will become three.
It has been an unexpected journey indeed, and in the words of Professor Tolkien himself, ”a tale that grew in the telling.”
I know there will be some people who say this is just too much. However, I am not one of them. I completely get where Peter Jackson is coming from. He gets ONE chance to tell this story. So he has a couple of options. He could make the two movies that were originally planned. Following this, I’m sure fans would be able to count on a plethora of bonus features and a very extended director’s cut of the movie. This could be cool but at the same time, it could end up being a bit lengthy (which I’m sure it will be anyway) with potential pacing issues, attention issues, oh and if it didn’t fit all on one disc… not going to work this time. Another option is to split these two movies into a trilogy. Create three movies that each have purpose and tell a specific part of the story. There are a TON of details in The Hobbit. At first, I will admit this seemed a bit far fetched but as I think about it more (and will be re-reading it shortly), this does seem like it could be a good way to get through all of these details and various plot points. The third option is to leave things as they were.
So there you have it, The Hobbit is a trilogy whether we like it or not. Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth now will be a six movie series (just like another geeky six movie series we all know and love). I personally hope that this second trilogy, that is also a prequel to the original, is executed and presented in a more um… consistent manner than the other trilogy. I personally think that he will and we’ll have two trilogies that line up wonderfully.
So now comes the big question of the day. What do YOU think? Are you excited for this? Comments!
Make it a GREAT day!
- Mr. DAPs
Mr. DAPs is the founder of DAPs Magic, the unofficial Disney fan club. He is the editor for DAPs Magic Disney News and posts regularly on DAPs Magic Geeks Corner. He is the co-host of Geeks Corner (www.thegeekscorner.com) and also has a photoblog mrdaps.com. He is a Disney expert and visits Disneyland regularly.
