More Hobbits Coming to 'The Hobbit'?

There's very little guesswork involved in whether or not to make a movie version of The Hobbit. Though I'm sure even the purists were reticent about the Lord of the Rings trilogy, by all accounts, that worked out pretty well. That is, unless, of course, you do the accounts at New Line. So making a Hobbit film is kind of the next step, and with Peter Jackson on board to co-write and produce and Guillermo Del Toro coming in to direct, there's cause for anticipation about the project.As to whether or not you can justify a second film - being summed up in the press as "The Bridge Movie" that will link The Hobbit and LOTR through addition Tolkien writings and a bit of artistic license - is still open for discussion. One thing I'm pretty sure you can't do is put the Hobbits in a time machine, though, but that's what Dominic Monaghan is proposing. Talking to MTV at Sundance over the weekend, Monaghan said that the filmmakers want him and the other three adventurin' Hobbits back for the prequels. "I think there's a really strong chance that we might be back," he said. Now hold on...I haven't read The Hobbit in 20 years, but even I know Frodo and company aren't around in that story. So here's the rather flimsy explanation:

"We're not in The Hobbit, no, but I think the idea in [their] heads is that the trilogy of the Lord of the Rings films was so beloved by the fans that they're really keen to try to say thank you for the support that they gave to the Lord of the Rings movies and possibly bring back some of those characters that they know and love."

But that's just stupid. Has that not gone through the minds of Jackson and Del Toro? If he's just talking about the second movie, you can maybe have a couple flash forwards, which would be awkward, but not the worst thing in the world. But you can't have them show up as principal characters in any way. I'd prefer it if they didn't show up at all, just for the sake of the story. You know who I like? John Lennon. Can we put him in The Hobbit movies, too? What about Thomas Jefferson? Let's hope it's just the altitude in Park City that's gotten to Dominic and that this talk goes nowhere.

Comments

[American Wilson]

I dusted off my extended edition Lord of the Rings Trilogy last night after reading this article and locked myself in the Wilson Closet to wade through 14 hours of footage before rendering my verdict on these very powerful developments...

The original Hobbits are right to start politicking their way back into the Tolkien universe, whether it makes sense or not. I think what Mr. Monaghan is pointing out is the energy and commitment that the Hobbits brought to the original tale arguably is what made the series such a success. Boyd, Monaghan, Wood and Aston embodied those roles with tremendous fervor to the extent that they wore their furry feet to bed each night during the four years of production.

Will Guillermo Del Toro and Peter Jackson be able to mine such creativity, commitment and dedication from a new bunch of actors for round two? Only George Lucas was able to do it with Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, so at least there is precedent.

But Lucas is a Master and Del Toro is but a Padawan of a Padawan. So it's risky, because his braid hasn't grown in yet.

The magic of LOTR, the reason why it connected with so many people, had a lot to do with circumstances and energy that will be very difficult, if not impossible to duplicate.

Preparing to emerge from deep within his closet, this has been American Wilson weighing in.

[Emo]

Lucas didn't mine diddly crap about of anyone in Star Wars Episode 1. Creativity, commitment and dedication...in Episode 1? Please...it was a horrible movie. Lucas a master and Del Toro a Padawan....again...what a load of crap.

The original hobbits are not right to start politicking their way into the next two movies. The characters aren't in the story. The studio shouldn't bastardize Tolkiens work, just in the hopes of giving it an even wider appeal....because that's the only reason they would include the hobbits from LOTR. It has nothing to do with "doing it for the fans"...and everything to do with trying to squeak out even more cash. How you can't see this is beyond me. What a horrible cheap ploy.

The studio should just trust Tolkiens work to be strong enough to make them a boatload of money. Which it will on it's name alone. So don't screw it up for those who find it a beloved story, just to try to make an extra buck. If they bring back the hobbits from LOTR...they might as well throw in Jar Jar Binks.

[lowblow]

They could not play the same characters in the first and only maybe in the second, but their are a lot of dwarves and some very different makeup could make all but elijah able to fit in as one of the 13 dwarves.

[?]

If the hobbits aren't in the book then they shouldn't be in the movies.