Peter Jackson may have somewhat soured fan opinions of himself after the middling Hobbit trilogy, but most Lord of the Rings fans still swear by his name as the best thing that could happen to Tolkien, and any attempts to adapt his work for live-action.
Even barring his reputation, Jackson being a veteran of Middle-earth after helming six movies is something that could have been of use to Amazon. Which is probably why, as soon as the giant conglomerate signed a deal with the Tolkien estate in 2017, whisperings started circulating online about Jackson’s return. Now, more than five years later, diehard fans have been confronted with a disheartening reality; rumors of the filmmaker’s involvement in The Rings of Power were just that.
According to what the director told The Hollywood Reporter, though, Amazon Studios did get in touch with him at the beginning, but he didn’t hear from them again.
“They asked me if I wanted to be involved — [writer-producer Fran Walsh] and I — and I said, ‘That’s an impossible question to answer without seeing a script.’ So they said, ‘As soon as we get the first couple scripts, we’ll send them to you.’ And the scripts never showed up. That’s the last thing I heard, which is fine. No complaints at all.
About four, five years ago, they asked if I would be interested in it. So I said, ‘Have you got the scripts yet?’ Because I know how hard the scripts were to write for the films, and I didn’t know the people writing their scripts. They said, ‘Oh no, we haven’t got the scripts yet, but as soon as we do, we’ll send you the scripts.’ So I was waiting for the scripts to arrive, and they never did.”
While the inclusion of Jackson in the creative process would’ve definitely helped The Rings of Power establish a familiar and comforting lifeline to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, perhaps it ultimately worked out for the best. There is such a thing as too many chefs in the kitchen, after all, and more so when it comes to creative endeavors.
The Rings of Power is slated for a Sep. 2 premiere on Prime Video.
