Despite already having a two-part Guillermo Del Toro helmed “The Hobbit” pretty much locked in, total bullshit rumors have again surfaced of a “bridge film” between that story and that of Peter Jackson’s “Lord Of The Rings” trilogy.
MarketSaw — the website desperate to push the 3D agenda at every little turn — are reporting that the idea of a bridge film has returned and that it will be directed by none other than Jackson himself.
Ha, fat chance. Between the second “Tintin” — which Jackson hasn’t even settled on a story for yet — and his long gestating “Dambusters,” which he’s been researching 3D filmmaking for, it’s basically impossible for the filmmaker to fit this in his schedule. Plus he’s insisted up and down several times and even very recently that “The Hobbit” is simply one story told in two parts and that the “bridge” film idea — inventing a connection between the book and the ‘Lord Of The Rings’ pictures — has been dropped entirely.
Also included in the over-enthusiastic MarketSaw “report” is word that the overall tone of the film will be darker than the novel, that the main antagonist, Smaug, will be a mixture of practical effects and animation and that Jackson is championing for the new trilogy to be in “stereoscopic 3D.” Our guess is that the source is confusing Jackson’s 3D work on “Dambusters” for something on “The Hobbit” while the other two ideas are anyone’s guess as to where they came from.
Jackson also made the point at this year’s Comic-Con that any rumors of casting on “The Hobbit” are severely premature. But not even word straight from the horse’s mouth can stop the media from hounding actors about it, right?
“Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe was recently asked about a potential role in the sequel of which he has been long linked to. “I’d have to say, ‘Thanks but no thanks,’ not that anyone has asked me,” the actor told L.A. Times’ Hero Complex. “Honestly, I don’t think they would want me anyway, it’s just too close. Whatever I do next, I don’t think there will be any wizards in it!” A wise move indeed, Daniel.
“The Hobbit” is due for release Christmas of 2011 and 2012. [MarketSaw/HeroComplex]