The Hobbit wordt drie films in plaats van twee

Aanvankelijk was het nieuwste project van Peter Jackson, de verfilming van Tolkiens The Hobbit, het boek dat voorafgaat aan zijn grootse epos The Lord of the Rings (eveneens door Jackson verfilmd) opgedeeld in twee films. Jackson zelf heeft nu bekend gemaakt dat er in plaats daarvan drie films zullen verschijnen.

Jackson was hier al enige tijd over in onderhandeling met Warner Bros. en heeft nu via een Facebook post laten weten dat het inderdaad een trilogie zal gaan worden. Dit vanwege de grote overvloed aan materiaal waar Jackson mee zit uit zowel de roman als uit Tolkiens appendixes.

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.”

Cheers,

Peter J

Aanvullend op An Unexpected Journey (13 december 2012) en There and Back Again (12 december 2013) staat het derde deel, dat nog geen subtitel heeft, gepland voor 12 december 2014.