# Will The Hobbit suffer the same fate the Star Wars Prequels **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 1, 2012, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098 "2012-08-01T19:47:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098/21 "2012-08-02T14:06:19Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > 1. The recent announcement that _The Hobbit_ will be released as a trilogy. That’s not justified by the stories. _The Lord of the Rings_ was five times the length of _The Hobbit_. Cut out all the travelogue stuff about all the scenery the characters are walking through and LotR is about half the length. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098/22 "2012-08-02T15:27:06Z")
Too much money? Too much beer? Too much Hobbit? All three of the above are impossible - you can’t have too much of any of them laying around. The Hobbit universe is rich in atmosphere, color and back stories. Peter Jackson has shown great love for this universe - I don’t think anyone need worry about spending too much time with Pete at the helm. Sit back and enjoy. I would be happy if he spends one film just wandering around the Hobbit neighborhood, getting to know the locals. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098/23 "2012-08-02T15:29:02Z")
The only thing I’m concerned about is the addition of the female character purely for “equality”. That just bugs me. Let the girls root for the legit characters. ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098/24 "2012-08-02T15:56:42Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > My problem with the Jackson films (and I liked them for the most part) wasn’t the stuff he left out (e.g. the barrow downs), or even the stuff he changed (e.g. buttkicking Arwen) but the stuff he invented out of whole cloth (e.g. Aragorn going over the cliff). I’m worried that since the Hobbit is only about one fifth the length of the LOTR–and is destined for the same three-film treatment–that Jackson will be unable to resist the temptation to invent all kinds of crap. This, too, is my issue. (Though there were also a few things that were changed that seemed pretty unnecessary and just done to cater to Mr. Jackson’s strange tastes.) But there’s really nothing up there with “Aragorn goes over the cliff” or “Skull avalanche in the paths of the dead”. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098/25 "2012-08-02T16:11:54Z")
I guess they hope so. . . the Star Wars prequels were very successful. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098/26 "2012-08-02T16:51:15Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Watch _The People vs George Lucas_. There is no deep, dark secret as to why the sequels sucked: Lucas views Star Wars as a kid’s & young adult franchise. At least in the twenty or so years between the trilogies that’s what he came to believe and want. And in those respects he succeeded. Jarhead Boinks is the most reviled character amongst adults, but he is literally loved & adored by little kids. Bullshit, the prequels have one of the most masterful political villains of all time, because kids just love plots of false wars being used to grind down a republic? Moral ambiguity out the anus, I don’t see how you can say they are designed for kids. The prequels are both childish AND mature. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098/27 "2012-08-02T17:30:31Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > You mean better than the sequels, right? Better than the original movies, yes.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098/28 "2012-08-02T17:32:45Z")
Ok, any potential Jar Jars identified yet. Besides whoever the hell Benedict Cumberbatch is playing? ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098/29 "2012-08-02T17:46:41Z")
I assumed or got the impression somewhere that all along the intention was to bring in big chunks of backstory and “meanwhile, in another part of Middle-Earth” happenings just to get two movies. There is half a book of Gandalf doing White Council deeds, visiting the Necromancer’s castle and setting up the Battle of Five Armies while Bilbo is wandering around Mirkwood and having some R&R in Laketown. There is a huge amount of set-up to bring us to Thorin & Co picking up Bilbo and heading off to the Lonely Mountain. There is the opportunity for Gandalf to talk about (and PJ to show) a bit of the Fall of Gondolin when they pick up weapons in the troll cave. Lots of easy pickings to take the story and characters in The Hobbit and give them the full adult fantasy (no, not that sort, although I’m sure it is in the works) treatment. I don’t think it is even necessary or desireable to pull in story filler after Bilbo returns to Bag end to get three 2 or 2+ hour movies. ---
**Author:** ![inedible\_knapsack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/49beb7/32.png) [@inedible\_knapsack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inedible_knapsack)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098/30 "2012-08-02T17:52:07Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Too much money? > Too much beer? > Too much Hobbit? > > All three of the above are impossible - you can’t have too much of any of them laying around. > > The Hobbit universe is rich in atmosphere, color and back stories. Peter Jackson has shown great love for this universe - I don’t think anyone need worry about spending too much time with Pete at the helm. Sit back and enjoy. I would be happy if he spends one film just wandering around the Hobbit neighborhood, getting to know the locals. ^ This. There are a couple of directors out there who I trust implicitly, and Jackson is one of them. I simply wonder if he will embue The Hobbit with the same atmosphere as the novel, which I felt was lighter and more playful that LOTR overall. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098/31 "2012-08-02T17:54:03Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Ok, any potential Jar Jars identified yet. Besides whoever the hell Benedict Cumberbatch is playing? BC’s character won’t be the Jar Jar. He’ll voice Smaug himself, and and a terrific choice. BC does a chilling, velvety voice in the best Shakespearean tradition, and interacts well with Martin Freeman to boot. That’s not to say there won’t be a Jar Jar. Hopefully it won’t be Radagast. Sylvester McCoy looked like a big ham in that latest vlog. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098/32 "2012-08-02T18:28:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Two reasons to worry. > > 1. The endings of _The Return of the King_. Yes, I know it came from the book. But let’s face it - it was poor story-telling. The story ended when Frodo and Sam threw the Ring into Mount Doom. But the movie literally went on for another thirty minutes after that. Yeah, if they were gonna do that, they should have shown the Scouring of the Shire. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098/33 "2012-08-02T18:57:49Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Ok, any potential Jar Jars identified yet. Besides whoever the hell Benedict Cumberbatch is playing? Bombur the fat pathetic dwarf is a possibility; he was basically played for laughs in the book, after all. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098/34 "2012-08-02T19:19:19Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > The Hobbit universe is rich in atmosphere, color and back stories. Peter Jackson has shown great love for this universe - I don’t think anyone need worry about spending too much time with Pete at the helm. Sit back and enjoy. I would be happy if he spends one film just wandering around the Hobbit neighborhood, getting to know the locals. This is exactly what I’m worried about. I’ve read Tolkein and I like his books but it’s not a blind love. I’m not going to sit there and say anything that’s up on the screen is great because it’s Tolkein. You can make a good movie from a bad source and you can make a bad movie from a good source. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098/35 "2012-08-02T19:54:52Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Bombur the fat pathetic dwarf is a possibility; he was basically played for laughs in the book, after all. Yeah. The way the character is made up makes him look like [Obelix](http://www.asterix.com/encyclopedie/personnages/perso/g28b.gif). ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098/36 "2012-08-02T20:20:50Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > My problem with the Jackson films…the stuff he invented out of whole cloth (e.g. Aragorn going over the cliff). Has Jackson ever said why the hell he added that? ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098/37 "2012-08-02T22:41:47Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Has Jackson ever said why the hell he added that? So Liv Tyler could be in the second film would be my guess. I’m just thankful that PJ resisted the temptation to have Arwen show up at Helm’s Deep as commander of the elven archers. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2012, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098/38 "2012-08-02T23:31:09Z")
I doubt it, but based on the last two movies in The Lord of the Rings, King Kong, and that dead girl movie, I don’t expect them to very good. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098/39 "2012-08-03T07:49:24Z")
The book is actually quite dense - just going by book sequences, without any backstory, we have Shire-\>Trolls-\>Rivendell-\>Misty Mountains(Storm Giants!)-\>Goblin Capture-\>Gollum-\>Escape-\>Eagle Rescue-\>Beorn. And that’s all _before_ we get into Mirkwood! ---
**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2012, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098/40 "2012-08-03T08:19:07Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > It even has a built-in hand wave for inconsistencies and continuity errors. A wizard did it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-hobbit-suffer-the-same-fate-the-star-wars-prequels/630098.md?page=3)