Peter Jackson Wants to Make a Massive LORD OF THE RINGS Making of Documentary
More than twenty years after Middle-earth first hit theaters, Peter Jackson is still sitting on something huge tied to The Lord of the Rings. While the original trilogy wrapped up long ago, Jackson has hinted that there’s still a chance for a massive new project connected to the franchise. It just wouldn’t be a traditional sequel.
The Oscar-winning filmmaker recently spoke with Empire while reflecting on the 25th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. During the conversation, Jackson opened up about a long-gestating idea, a sprawling documentary built from mountains of unseen footage captured during the making of the trilogy.
According to Jackson, the material goes far beyond what fans have already watched in the extensive Appendices included with the extended editions. There’s a deeper, more granular look at the filmmaking process that’s never been released.
“The footage contains alternative takes, it contains bloopers, it contains a bit more of a sense of the mechanics of making the films,” Jackson explained.
That project, however, would be enormous in scale, which is the main reason it hasn’t happened yet. Jackson made it clear that the hurdle hasn’t been lack of interest on his end, but rather convincing the studio to greenlight something so ambitious.
“But to this day, I haven’t persuaded [the studio], because obviously it’s a big undertaking,” the filmmaker said.
The idea is especially interesting considering how packed the existing behind-the-scenes material already is. Fans who own the extended editions know they include hours and hours of production footage, interviews, and deep dives into how the trilogy was pulled off.
Even with all that, Jackson confirmed there’s still a substantial amount of material sitting unreleased.
While nothing has been approved and no timeline exists, the door clearly isn’t closed. If the studio ever gives the go-ahead, the result could feel like a mega Lord of the Rings movie in documentary form. One that digs even further into how the trilogy came together and how such an ambitious production was actually made.
During the same interview, Jackson also addressed a rumor that refuses to die among fans. The so-called “Extended Mithril Cut.” He shut that down directly, confirming that no such version of the films exists.
For Jackson, there’s still unfinished business in those Lord of the Rings vaults, and it would be awesome if he’s ever allowed to unleash it.