Peter Jackson has confirmed he is producing a new, frankly unnecessary Lord of the Rings film, to accompany the other new, frankly unnecessary Lord of the Rings film he is already producing.
Jackson is already producing the borderline spurious Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, a new film directed by Andy Serkis, who also returns to star as Gollum. The film, set between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, will depict the various attempts by the wizard Gandalf and his ally Aragorn to locate Gollum and learn more about his mysterious ring. Despite having minimal source material available, the film will reunite multiple castmembers from the original movie trilogy, though will likely recast the role of Aragorn due to Viggo Mortensen looking twenty-six years older than when he made those films. This film is due for release on 17 December 2027.
Jackson has now confirmed that, having scraped the bottom of the barrel, he has punched right through it and is now halfway to Earth's core with a further Lord of the Rings-branded movie. The Lord of the Rings: The Shadow of the Past will apparently expand on the "missing chapters" from the original film, The Fellowship of the Ring, filling in the section between the Hobbits leaving the Shire and arriving in Bree. In the original novel, this section sees the Hobbits pass through Buckland, the part of the Shire east of the River Brandywine, where they regroup at Crickhollow and touch base with their friend Fatty Bolger (the infamous "fifth Hobbit," who stays behind in the Shire whilst the main crew go on their epic adventure). They then enter the Old Forest, running afoul of Old Man Willow and meeting the enigmatically jovial Tom Bombadil and his wife Goldberry, before being pursued by Barrow-wights whilst crossing nearby moorland. Rescued by Bombadil, they resume their journey to Bree.
The original writing team had expressed regret at having to exercise this material for time and tonal reasons, though co-writer Philippa Boyens noted on the DVD that it's wholly possible the Hobbits still had those adventures, they just happen off-screen in the movie.
Noted Middle-earth fan and shortly-to-be-unemployed talk show host Stephen Colbert will co-write the film with Boyens and Peter McGee, whilst Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh will produce. A framing device will see Sam, Merry and Pippin (presumably a returning Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd, though they are not 100% confirmed) reflect on the "missing episode" from some years after the War of the Ring. This will presumably allow their naturally-aged appearances and presumably CGI de-aged versions for the bulk of the action (where they presumably will need to be joined by Elijah Wood). The project does not yet have a director attached or a release date mooted, though it will need to be some time after The Hunt for Gollum's release in 2027.
Rumours that Warner Brothers are developing a full nine-hour trilogy based on a three-paragraph conversation between Frodo, Bilbo and Gloin at the Council of Elrond cannot be substantiated at this time. Yet.
