Guillermo Del Toro to direct, as has been speculated. I am super stoked for this, especially since GDT seems just as big a fan of Tolkien as the rest of us.
Thank you, this is good news.
I am very enthusiastic about Guillermo del Toro as the director with Peter Jackson still on board. I think del Toro is the better director, but Jackson’s vision of Middle Earth was near perfect. (It was just his silly rewrites that bugged me.)
Jim
If the casting is even halfways decent this should be a spectacular film. I love what I’ve seen of del Toro’s work.
I dunno
Seems kind of a grasp to milk more money out of the franchise. Guess we’ll find out in four years, in any case.
GDT’s post on TORN
http://newboards.theonering.net/forum/gforum/perl/gforum.cgi?post=90953#90953
Brian
Never mind that crap . . . When are we gonna see a film adaptation of that great literary classic (gotta be, it came out of Harvard), Bored of the Rings?!
I’m assuming not very much of that “interquel” would be set in the Shire, at any rate. Bilbo Baggins retires quietly to Bag End, is visited once by Balin and Gandalf, uses the Ring occasionally to avoid unwelcome visitors (especially the Sackville-Bagginses) and after thirty or forty years Frodo’s parents drown in a boating accident and Bilbo adopts Frodo. Making that fill a three-hour film would be kinda like scraping butter over too much bread.
Otherwise, what else is there? Persistent rumours of war, a gradual re-awaking of the Shadow in Mordor following the expulsion of the Necromancer from Mirkwood shortly before the Battle of Five Armies, Gollum’s emergence from the Misty Mountains and eventual capture in Mordor, torture and interrogation and release to search for the Shire, Baggins and the Ring, and recapture by Aragorn. Of course, Aragorn got up to a fair bit during this time, but not as yet very connected with the Ring.
Legolas and Gimli are both about the place, one in Mirkwood with his dad and the other presumably at the Lonely Mountain with his dad once Dain has the kingdom up and running. Neither does anything of great interest, canonically, though that wouldn’t stop some film directors. Boromir, Sam, Pippin and Merry are all born during this time. Theoden is a babe in arms when Gandalf and Balin visit Bilbo and Denethor must be a similar age.
Even Gandalf hardly suspected that the Precious was a Ring of Power, still less a Great one, still less the One, until shortly before the events in LotR; and it was largely Bilbo’s conduct after his Party that really put the cat among the pigeons.
I think this is the first time I’ve seen a picture of Guillermo Del Toro and I’m disappointed that he doesn’t look like Benicio Del Toro’s geeky little brother.
Awesome news.
The “Interquel” is not happening, according to New Line. Yes, that was in a bunch of articles (which probably came off the same feed) yesterday, but Yahoo issued a correction about an hour and a half later.
Sounds like two movies, “The Hobbit” and its unnamed sequel, *both *based on The Hobbit. No idea where they’re breaking it up (probably Mirkwood?)
So, as someone suggested in an earlier thread, its not “There and Back Again”, its to be “There”, and “There 2: Back Again!”.
I still think a movie about Aragorn’s travels, and his service in the armies of Rohan and Gondor, could be a good flick. And it all takes place during the time between The Hobbit and LOTR.
Actually, he kinda looks like Peter Jackson’s geeky little brother.
If the two Hobbit movie do well and I am sure they will, then they could think about the adventures of Aragorn in the armies of Rohan and Gondor and tracking down Gollum. They could even show him in the wars after his crowning.
They could also mine some of the stories of the Silmarillion.
I am happy they will do the Hobbit in two parts. This should reduce the need for cutting to almost nothing. I would bet that there will be a small cameo by Orlando Bloom as Legolas. I would not be sad if Hugo Weaving did not return.
I hope and expect Ian McKellen to reprise his role as Gandalf and Andy Serkis as Gollum.
Jim
He also looks like Matthew YGlesias’ geeky older brother.
I actually hope they DO cut, and I’d rather see one movie that was (reasonably) true to the book than see them add in non-canonical filler. For all that I love what Peter Jackson did with LotR (extended version), I also cringe that they had planned to have Aragorn do sword-battle with Sauron in the big climax. Good sense restrained them, but only just barely (assuming the commentaries are reliable.)
The Hobbit easily has enough material to fill 4 hours and I actually think 5 hours.
I would assume that a pair of just over 2 hour movies will be produced.
I don’t think they will be padding and I believe, hopefully correctly, Del Toro will be more faithful to the material than Jackson was.
The Hobbit is a more visual book anyway. It is a very long fairytale and not an epic like LoTR or tragedy like “The Children of Hurin”.
Jim
Maybe they’ll include the stuff that was going on “offstage” in the book–the White Council’s battle with the Necromancer in Southern Mirkwood and the struggle for power within the council (Saruman vs. Gandalf).
GDT interview w/ TORN:
He seems to think it will cover the time between Hobbit & FOTR (possibly some of the Hobbit from a different point of view)
Brian
Yeah, I’m confused.
Del Toro himself said yesterday or today that the second film covers events between The Hobbit and LOTR. Why did other outlets correct themselves to say otherwise?
-FrL-
I’m trying to work up some of the enthusiasm I initially had for LOTR but can’t quite manage it. The Hobbit is simply not epic enough, and I’m afraid that blowing it up into two movies with the budgets they are talking about will make it more like King Kong than Fellowship (my favorite by far of the three movies, possibly because it was more cautious and restrained, and certainly closer to the source). Also, I’m not a GTD fan - I’ve been unmoved by his movies, and I have a deep and jealous love for The Hobbit.
I would have been much happier to hear that it was to be an HBO miniseries with a decent budget than a theatrical release. The chapters practically beg for it. But, if they snag Sir Ian I will be forced to watch the films anyway. I’d love to see them skip a shoehorned cameo of Bloom as Legolas and instead see them cast him as Thranduil. A not-so wise Elf king with a love of wine would be a lot more interesting.