Are Even More Middle-earth Movies Coming Soon?
Door Jam: May 18, 2026
Two Middle-earth movies—the Andy Serkis-directed The Hunt for Gollum and the Stephen Colbert-penned Shadow of the Past—are already in some stage of production. But more Tolkien may be coming to theaters.
In an interview with Deadline, Peter Jackson teased that discussions are happening with the Tolkien estate to adapt even more of Middle-earth stories.
Christopher Tolkien had previously objected to additional projects, but he died in 2020 at 95. Other members of the family are seemingly more open, according to Jackson.
“I mean, there’s a lot more Tolkien writing, which would make great movies that were subsequently released by Christopher. He would just absolutely not let any mere idea of a film happen, so those rights have never been available. But Christopher passed away, and the younger Tolkien, this next generation, now running the estate, are much more open to ‘talking.’ So, a combination of Warner Bros. and us have been talking to some of the younger Tolkien members, who are part of the [Tolkien Estate], of actually licensing rights to some of the other books. It would be nice to get away from the appendices and get something a bit more meaty.”
Currently, the only Tolkien material that can be adapted is from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books. The rights to The Silmarillion have not been released. Amazon’s Rings of Power skirted this by focusing on material included in The Lord of the Rings appendices.
Christopher Tolkien edited and published many of his father’s incomplete works, including The Silmarillion. He disliked Peter Jackson’s adaptation (and probably any potential cinematic version), telling Le Monde in 2012:
“They gutted the book, turning it into an action film for 15- to 25-year-olds … The gap that has opened up between the beauty and seriousness of the work, and what it has become, is beyond me. Such a degree of commercialization reduces the aesthetic and philosophical scope of this creation to nothing. I have only one solution left: to turn my head away.”
I would have to agree with him on The Hobbit movies.
While more Middle-earth may be coming to theaters, we’ll have to see if we need to turn our heads away.
Sources:
Not Safe But Good
C.S. Lewis quote of the week
If you think of this world as a place intended simply for our happiness, you find it quite intolerable: think of it as a place of training and correction and it’s not so bad.
“4 Answers to Questions on Christianity,” God in the Dock
Tumnus’ bookshelf
Books by or about Lewis or Tolkien
A Year With C.S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classic Works (ebook): $6.99 (61% off)
Other books on sale:
The World’s Last Night and Other Essays (ebook): $4.99 (55% off)
Behind the Wardrobe
Sneak peek at the bonus articles
It was an Inklings-heavy news week. Here are some of the stories we’ll discuss below:
Lewis nominated Tolkien for the Nobel Prize
A breakdown of all the known and rumored Narnia cast
More on Meryl Streep rumored as Aslan
Lewis as a political philosopher
More on the two upcoming Middle-earth movies
Rings of the Power season three debuts this fall
A major Middle-earth game is cancelled but more are in the works
And more!
