Amazon Studios is in a mad dash to keep up with Netflix, and to do it they are embarking on their biggest project yet, a series based on JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. With a cost of roughly $1B, of course Amazon chief Jennifer Salke is looking for the best way to maximize on the investment. Rumors over the last few weeks have Peter Jackson either involved, not involved, possibly involved…whatever. Salke, in an interview with Deadline, attempts to clarify where things stand with Jackson right now, but things still seem pretty murky…
“The Peter Jackson conversations, right now we’re right in the middle of them. It’s like, how much do you want to be involved, how little? I know there’s been some discussion, and he’s even said some things, but as far as I’m aware, the latest is that we’re just in a conversation with him about how much or how little he would be involved.”
What is clear is that Jackson won’t have direct creative involvement, so don’t look for him as a director, producer, or writer on the series. Some of the New Zealand locations Jackson used during the six Tolkien movies he directed will be used for Amazon’s production, though. Maybe that’s where his involvement will be.
While nothing has been set in stone, rumors suggested the series would follow a young Aragorn, but according to Salke that may not be true. She insists to Variety it won’t be a remake of the stories we’ve already seen, but it also won’t be completely new because familiar characters will be included…
“It’s not a remaking of the movies, and it’s not a whole new thing,” Salke said. “It’s something in between. It’s not, ‘Oh, it’s “Lord of the Rings” but you don’t recognize anything in it,’ but it’s not totally familiar to you either. So it’s original.”
Lord of the Rings won’t be seen until 2019 at the earliest and honestly, the way it sounds right now I wouldn’t be surprised if it were 2020. Nobody seems to have any idea what is happening or who is going to be part of putting this massive project together.
