It seems that the trilogy may be returning to Middle Earth as Heat Vision reports that Peter Jackson is in serious talks with Warner Bros about extending The Hobbit films, An Unexpected Journey and There and Back Again, with a third tale. Jackson first hinted at the possibility at this year's San Diego Comic-Con saying that he was keen to shoot more footage based on Tolkein's extensive Lord of the Rings notes, which run to some 125 pages and contain a wealth of additional material. Of course saying you want to kick-start further epic film-making and actually making it so are two very different things. However, with a probable 2 extra months of shooting required, Jackson, his producing partner Fran Walsh, and writer Philippa Boyens have been discussing with Warner Bros the logistics involved in actually making it happen. There's also the not insignificant question of securing a budget before anyone even knows if the first two films are destined for box office gold, plus re-gathering a pretty extensive cast of actors. But time is apparently of the essence; according to the site a source close to the production has said;
If were going to do it, we have to make a decision soon... Its strongly driven by the filmmakers desire to tell more of the story."
Questions about 48 fps filming notwithstanding, anticipation for the return to Tolkein's literary landscape is high, so the questions is, should Warner Bros take a punt and give Jackson the extra money and leeway to continue telling the story, or is this just the whims of a man who just doesn't want to let go of a world he's done so much to create? The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, will open in cinemas in the UK on December 14 this year, and The Hobbit: There and Back Again on December 13, 2013. A third movie would almost certainly come out in the same weekend 2014.