Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Hobbit director Peter Jackson will not make a Marvel movie because, ironically, he does not like 'franchise-driven Hollywood'

The Hobbit director is looking to make a small scale New Zealand film next

Jess Denham
Monday 22 December 2014 05:54 EST
Comments
The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit director Peter Jackson with his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit director Peter Jackson with his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Peter Jackson has said ‘no thanks’ to directing a Marvel film because he does not like the “Hollywood blockbuster bandwagon”.

Despite (ironically) achieving global success with The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, the New Zealand filmmaker is not a fan of franchises and comic book movies.

“The industry – and the advent of all the technology – has kind of lost its way,” he told Moviefone. “It’s become very franchise-driven and superhero-driven.

“I’ve never read a comic book in my life, so I’m immediately at a disadvantage and I have no interest in that.”

Instead, Jackson plans to “go and make a small New Zealand movie” and step back from grander scale films.

The 53-year old has become synonymous with JRR Tolkien films after making six movies in 14 years.

Jackson’s final Hobbit movie, The Battle of the Five Armies, is in cinemas now after topping the UK box office last weekend.

The Middle Earth epic grossed £9.76 million to take the number one spot and surpass the debuts for preceding films An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug.

But any fans hoping to see Jackson return to Tolkien’s fantasy classics will be disappointed. The Oscar-winning director confirmed earlier this month that he will not be bringing any more of the author’s work to the big screen because of legal reasons.

“The Tolkien estate owns the writings of Professor Tolkien. Without the cooperation of the Tolkien estate, there can’t be more films.”

Unfortunately Tolkien’s son, Christopher, told Le Monde in 2012 that his father has “become a monster, devoured by his own popularity and absorbed in the absurdity of our time”.

So don’t expect any more Tolkien films anytime soon.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in