Report: Peter Jackson To Produce J.R.R. Tolkienâs âThe Silmarillionâ
Fresh off the release of the final film in his âThe Hobbitâ trilogy, sources in Hollywood are reportedly saying that Peter Jackson plans to tackle J.R.R. Tolkienâs âThe Silmarillionâ for his next project. It is unknown if Jackson will direct the âSilmarillionâ trilogy or will only act in a producer capacity. âThe Hobbitâ trilogy was originally slatedÂ to be directed by Guillermo del Toro, who had to leave the project in 2010 due to constant production delays. With del Toroâs departure, Jackson ended up directing âThe Hobbitâ films, which led to it expanding into a trilogy instead of the planned two films. Film critic, Gary Caldwell of the North Bend Press claims that, âIâve heard rumblings that prior to the post-production for âThe Desolation of Smaugâ, Jackson was in negotiations with New Line and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to secure the rights to produce a series of films âbased on The Silmarillion and other Tolkien talesâ. Several people have told me that Jackson being forced back into the directorâs chair for âThe Hobbitâ rekindled his interest in adapting even more of Tolkienâs writings into screenplays.â Tolkien expert, Francis Villalba of Grinnell, Iowa explains that, ââThe Silmarillion will be a tricky book to convert to films, but I think Peter Jackson could do it some justice. Iâm assuming they will adapt âQuenta Silmarillionâ for the most part and the benefit of that is that none of the previous characters from âThe Lord of the Ringsâ or âThe Hobbitâ are really featured. This would free up the casting a bit and not make them have to rely on signing high-profile actors like Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood or Orlando Bloom to make the films happen.â Villalba also suspects that Jackson will also include the sections âAkallabÃªthâ, âAinulindalÃ«â and âValaquentaâ in some capacity. âI think the biggest concern is that he (Jackson) starts to pull from too many other sources, like he did with âThe Hobbitâ, and we wind up with either five films or a trilogy of five to six-hour films,â adds Villalba. Caldwell is surprised that New Line is reported to be interested in any more Tolkien films. âThey made a killing off of the âLord of the Ringsâ films,â says Caldwell. âBut, they made roughly the same on âThe Hobbitâ with a significantly higher budget and less overall profit. Iâll be really surprised if this project does happen. Iâm sure many MGM and New Line executives may feel Jackson is going to the well one too many times.â Jacksonâs proposed film version of âThe Silmarillionâ is ground-breaking as it was previously viewed as impossible due to the rights holder, J.R.R. Tolkienâs son, Christopher Tolkien, being unwilling to sell the film rights. Christopher Tolkien is essentially the co-editor of âThe Silmarillionâ as the book is comprised of archive material and previously unpublished works by the elder Tolkien. Christopher Tolkien has not spoken publicly on this apparent change of heart as it was previously thought he was unhappy with the âLord of the Ringsâ films and has not stated a public opinion on the recent âThe Hobbitâ films. âIâm amazed New Line and MGM were able to get the rights,â adds Villalba. âItâs well-known in the Tolkien fan community that Christopher Tolkien has no interest in selling any more of the rights to any of the published works. If these films happen it will truly be a miracle.â