By What was once a quick a quick and enjoyable read for children and adults alike has now officially been turned into an epic, three-part, fantasy saga. Yes, Peter Jackson has worked out whatever needed to be worked out and will return to shooting to make a third Hobbit. Thee announcement came over Facebook, where The Hobbit has been released most of its publicity. This third film is now slated for summer of 2014 and will also be in IMAX and 3D.
As for the why of it all, when many people believe The Hobbit could have been told in one film, Jackson has this to say, “Upon recently viewing a cut of the first film, and a chunk of the second, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and I were very pleased with the way the story was coming together. We recognized that 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, gave rise to a simple question: do we tell more of the tale? And the answer from our perspective as filmmakers and fans was an unreserved ‘yes.’”
The studio reps had plenty to say as well, but I think it mostly amounted to dollar signs in their eyes. As for my humble opinion: more power to them. Obviously Jackson is tackling far more than the book has in it and is using the films to do more than just tell the story in the book. I think with a different director that would be idiotic, but with Jackson it’s the right choice.
