Peter Jackson Returning For The Silmarillion? New Report Gets Us Closer To Middle-earth

This is huge news because pretty much no one thought that this adaptation would ever come to fruition. Also, it’s even better news that Peter Jackson is reportedly being put in charge of The Silmarillion adaptation, as Jackson has the experience and the love of the source material to bring it to life.

Jackson himself has previously expressed interest in making this adaptation, saying, “I have always wanted to work on The Silmarillion, to complete that story, and bring the origin of Middle-earth to screen, and now, getting the chance, it is so close to coming true.” 

Peter Jackson directed the highly acclaimed and beloved The Lord of the Rings trilogy, pulling off the unenviable task of adapting one of the most treasured and influential fantasy novel series of all time.

Now those films have gone down in history as some of the best fantasy films of all time, along with being some of the best literary adaptations of all time. If Jackson can do the same for The Silmarillion, fantasy fans will be very happy.

Of course, there’s the lingering specter of the Hobbit trilogy still haunting both Peter Jackson and Tolkien fans.

Infamously, studio rushing and meddling led to a single, relatively short book being turned into a bloated, wonky CGI-heavy trilogy.

Hopefully, the studios learned their lesson and they let Jackson have the time, space, and creative control to make The Silmarillion adaptation with the same love and care that went into the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

For those who haven’t read it, and it’s understandable if you haven’t, The Silmarillion is an expansive and detailed history of Middle Earth that tells various stories and myths across hundreds of years.

The book has numerous characters and takes place over a long span of time, which explains why many consider it to be incredibly hard to adapt. Needless to say, Peter Jackson has his work cut out for him.

These reports are early, but it does make one wonder if Peter Jackson will simply get to direct one film for The Silmarillion or if this project will be more expansive than the original reports indicate.

Undoubtedly, the novel would be better served by a TV series format that gives it time to breathe. And if the studios were so insistent on making the single Hobbit book into three movies, it seems silly that The Silmarillion would be limited to one.

Perhaps Peter Jackson will get the chance to make one movie based on The Silmarillion and then be allowed to make more if it does well.

For now, we’ll just have to wait until more news about this report comes out. Stay tuned, and we’ll keep you updated.

Source: Culture Slate