Amazon Courted And Then Ghosted Peter Jackson For The Rings Of Power, According To The Lord Of The Rings Filmmaker
J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" stories became known around the globe in the years following their publication and for good reason. Action, drama, and all of the hallmarks of fantasy, and then some are present, amounting to an enjoyable reading experience. Not to mention, the world and characters that inhabit it are incredibly easy to invest in, hence why readers are still so eager to visit Middle-earth whenever they can — a sensation Hollywood and director Peter Jackson tapped into on the big screen starting in the early-2000s.
Jackson helmed the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and couldn't have been more successful at bringing Tolkien's works to the movies. The vast majority of audiences everywhere loved his handling of the source material, from the design of the sets to Howard Shore's iconic musical score. Naturally, this made Jackson the man for the job when plans to adapt "The Hobbit" arose, and director Guillermo del Toro stepped away from the project. Though this trilogy didn't set the world on fire like its predecessor, it was a fine cap to Jackson's time in Middle-earth.
Unsurprisingly, when Amazon announced that it was putting together a "Lord of the Rings" series — titled "The Lords of the Rings: The Rings of Power" — many suspected Peter Jackson would be involved. According to the man himself, Amazon tried to bring him on board, only for the company to suddenly ghost him.
Jackson isn't bitter over the Amazon situation
As revealed by Peter Jackson himself in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Amazon reached out early on to see if he'd take part in "The Rings of Power" in some capacity. "I – and I said, 'That's an impossible question to answer without seeing a script,'" Jackson recalls, and so those at Amazon assured him that they'd get to work on a few scripts and send them his way once they finished them. Time went by, yet no such scripts arrived for Jackson to take a look at. "The scripts never showed up. That's the last thing I heard, which is fine. No complaints at all," he concluded.
Reiterating the final point, Peter Jackson hasn't expressed any bitterness toward Amazon or the "Rings of Power" team. "I'll be watching it. I'm not the sort of guy who wishes ill will," the Oscar-winning director said, continuing, "The one thing I am looking forward to is actually seeing it as a perfectly neutral viewer." In response to Jackson's statements, Amazon has clarified that the reason for his exclusion came down to outside constraints. Per an Amazon studios representative, "In pursuing the rights for our show, we were obligated to keep the series distinct and separate from the films."
Peter Jackson created movie magic when he led the "Lord of the Rings" saga, so it's too bad he didn't get to do the same for "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power." Still, it's worth getting excited to see what a brand new team will bring to the Middle-earth adaptation.