Comic-Con 2012: Peter Jackson Wants THE HOBBIT To Be Three Movies

Yesterday at The Hobbit press conference, Peter Jackson said that he's hoping to make The Hobbit into three movies. They have the rights to some of the appendices - although not The Silmarillion. Jackson said the Tolkien estate has the rights to that and he doesn't "think they really like the Lord of the Rings movies." 

It's 125 pages of additional material that expands the world, and Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are hoping to persuade the studio to allow for some additional shooting next year. He said, "It's very premature. There isn't anything to report yet but there are other parts of the story that we'd like to tell, that we haven't had a chance to tell yet. We've got incredible source material with the appendices."

Jackson also gave the usual spiel about 48fps and how great it's all going to look when we see the film in its entirety, and Ian McKellen, whom I never imagined had much of an opinion about 3D, chimed in, "These people that say they don't like 3D, it's bollocks. 3D is life. We’re in 3D now. The astonishing thing about Peter’s 3D is that it doesn’t come out at you, you go into it. You go into Middle-earth. The kids are going to be astonished.”

It's funny; say what you will about 3D and 48fps, but when Sir Ian McKellen is thundering at me to like it, I suddenly feel compelled to do so.