LORD OF THE RINGS Blu-Ray Release only offers Theatrical Cuts

Peter Jackson is going to do it again. It is safe to assume that most of us have been waiting in anticipation for The Lord of the Rings Trilogy to be released on Blu-Ray but dammit to hell it is only going to be the theatrical cuts of the movie... for now.  Peter Jackson will also release the extended cut Blu-Ray versions of the film... when 'The Hobbit' comes out! Crap! This news is confirmed at The Digital Bits from sources who are in the circle of Peter Jackson.

Sources close to director Peter Jackson have informed me that he's saving the extended editions of the films for an "ultimate" box set release closer to the debut of the new Hobbit films - that's why these BDs are set to be theatrical only. That's obviously not going to satisfy every fan, but it gives them something in the meantime. As was the case with the original DVD release, at least you're now aware in advance that a more elaborate release is coming eventually if you'd prefer to wait for it. For Warner's part, I've officially confirmed with the studio that this initial Blu-ray release is real and it's coming before the end of this year, but I'm told it won't be officially announced for another few months yet. So you should probably still consider this release to be semi-official and subject to change. Just FYI.

Oh, well. I guess I can either wait a few more years for the extended edition or I will just have to buy both of them, which is probably what will end up happening. However I am excited that the movie will be coming out on Blu-Ray! I can't wait to see what it looks like in 1080p HiDef glory!

There is still no set date on when the Blu-ray will be released, but Amazon has already taking preorders for the movie at $69.99 a pop. What are you going to do?