Why Return To Middle-Earth For ‘The Lord Of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum?’ Peter Jackson, Andy Serkis & Philippa Boyens Explain, 23 Years After Cannes Saved The Billion Dollar ‘LOTR’ Trilogy
deadline.comEXCLUSIVE: Since Warner Bros acquired the rights to make more Middle-earth films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s works and the canon established by New Line’s original trilogy, Peter Jackson and his Lord of the Rings cohorts Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens hovered over the proceedings for a long time, as they mulled how to return, and much to involve themselves into another deep dive into Tolkien mythology.
As a business proposition, the allure is easy to understand: the two trilogies – the six LOTR and The Hobbit films — generated nearly $6 billion in worldwide grosses and enough Oscar gold to fill the lair of the dragon Smaug from 2012’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
Go back 23 years, and the road was far more perilous when New Line founder Bob Shaye green lit three LOTR movies Jackson shot one after the other in New Zealand.
One of the biggest gambles in film history, Shaye’s bet looked to be facing longer odds as bad buzz spread that LOTR would fail and it would not only doom New Line, but its offshore distribution partners.
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