Helmer confirms Comic-Con rumors
Warner Bros. and New Line have cleared all hurdles to creating a third installment of "The Hobbit" and are moving forward with the project, director Peter Jackson announced Monday.
The final "Hobbit" installment will be set for summer 2014. No specific date has been announced.
Jackson said at Comic-Con that there was plenty of extra footage from the two-picture shoot, and hinted at the possibility of a third film. The Los Angeles Times subsequently first reported that the "Lord of the Rings" helmer and the studio were quietly talking about fashioning three "Hobbit" movies.
Principal shooting wrapped on the first two "Hobbit" films earlier this month, and though Jackson has plenty of b-roll to work with, a third pic will require a re-start of production. That means the filmmakers had to renegotiate and work out schedules with dozens of rights-holders, thesps and other people with leverage.
With official business out of the way, Jackson can begin stretching the narrative with material drawn from J.R.R. Tolkein's notes, various appendices he wrote and other material from within and without "The Hobbit" itself, a fairly straightforward there-and-back-again hero's journey that was originally intended for young readers.
"The Hobbit: An Unexpexted Journey" is set for a Dec. 14 release; the sequel is slated for Dec. 13, 2013.