Peter Jackson Not Involved With Lord of the Rings TV Series

Screen Rant

By Cooper Hood

Published Jun 6, 2018

Peter Jackson confirms he won't be involved with Amazon's Lord of the Rings TV series, despite previous rumors saying otherwise.

Peter Jackson isn't going to be involved in Amazon's Lord of the Rings series. At the start of the 2000s, Jackson stepped into high-fantasy by bringing J.R.R. Tolkein's famous novels to the big screen. Shooting them back-to-back-to-back allowed for the entire trilogy to hit theaters in three years time, making for one of the biggest franchises ever. All three movies received critical praise and did extremely well at the box office, so Warner Bros. wasn't ready to let it die. Jackson came in at the last minute to save The Hobbit trilogy too, but those films were not as well received.

The tales of Middle Earth won't be explored on the big screen next, though, as Amazon is developing a major TV series. The series will be set prior to the events of Jackson's original trilogy, but it isn't yet clear if this is actually a prequel or not. It appeared possible with Jackson reportedly mulling a return, except he isn't.

Allocine spoke to Jackson and asked him about the rumors that he may return to this property for Amazon's TV series. While it is easy to see why he would possibly be involved in some capacity, Jackson says he is not going to work on the TV series. Translated from the interview published in French, Jackson debunked the rumors by saying:

I’m not involved at all in the Lord of the Rings series. I understand how my name could come up, but there is nothing happening with me on this project.

Jackson is the only one to ever have creative say in how to bring Tolkein's novels to life in a live-action setting and he did so rather well. The familiarity that fans have with his vision and the name recognition that would come with his attachment to Amazon's show are just a few reasons his name was being brought up to begin with. However, it appears that was nothing more than a rumor with no validity, just like how the same report said Jackson could go to DC instead (which he also says isn't happening).

Fans of Jackson's take and the Lord of the Rings property may be bummed at first that he won't once again be leading the charge on another tale, but this could be for the best. Even though Jackson's version is beloved, him not being involved means another fresh voice will be able to put their spin on the source material and its world. Plus, with Amazon wanting this Lord of the Rings TV show to go on for several seasons, it would take up much of Jackson's time. Now that Jackson's name is out of consideration, we'll have to wait and see who Amazon appoints to lead their series.