After more than a decade away from feature filmmaking, Peter Jackson looks ready to get back to work.
Speaking via Zoom with longtime collaborator Richard Taylor, he told a retrospective story to mark the 30th anniversary of his first Hollywood film: ScarecrowsJackson revealed that his next project as director will be the long-awaited sequel to Steven Spielberg’s film. The Adventures of Tintin.
“Fran and I are writing the script for the next Tintin film, because 15 years ago Steven Spielberg made Tintin movie and I produced it,” Jackson exclusively told Gold Derby. “The idea was that I would then go straight into the second film and we would switch roles, so I would direct the second one and he would produce it. It only took 15 years to achieve this, unfortunately a bit late. But this is an eternal story. So we’re just done. So probably the next movie I’ll actually direct is Tintin movie.”
The last feature film directed by Jackson was the 2014 sequel. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Since then he has remained busy producing Mortal Engines in 2018 and The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim in 2024, producing two documentaries (They won’t grow old And The Beatles: Get Back – Rooftop Live) and documentary series (The Beatles: Come Back).
In January, he briefly discussed his absence from feature filmmaking in a video recorded for the film’s re-release. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Kingexplaining that the death of his longtime cinematographer Andrew Lesnie made Jackson afraid to return to the director’s chair.
“I think his death changed my creative path,” Jackson said in the clip. “As a result, I didn’t do a drama film for 11 or 12 years because it would have required me to build a relationship with another DP.”
Andy Serkis Back in Gollum Costume as Production Begins on ‘The Hunt for Gollum’New Line/Instagram
Ahead Tintin 2However, Jackson is once again dipping his toes into the waters of big screen filmmaking, returning to the cinematic world of Middle-earth. When he spoke to Gold Derby about Scarecrowshe revealed that filming had just begun on the film directed by Andy Serkis. The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. “The start of filming is about four days,” Jackson said. “I’m the producer, but Andy is directing, and we started filming (June 29).”
Taylor, who was also present on the call, explained that Hunt for Gollum was the reason why he had to briefly withdraw from the conversation about Scarecrows. “The car never stops,” he said apologetically. “I had to approve something that needed to be built immediately. So we went as deep into this as possible. Obviously it’s extremely joyful – we love returning to Middle-earth.” Taylor said production is well underway under Serkis’ direction.
“We love working with Andy, although we obviously miss having Pete at the helm as always,” he said. “But it’s joyful. I was on set on Monday and just saw Andy fit in so well and the crew was there completely supporting him because he’s an old friend of mine now, so it was wonderful, really wonderful.”
As if to prove his point, Taylor presented a model of Bag End, which not only depicted the Hobbit’s home in great detail, but also had a glass lens allowing the user to explore the space and look at people and hobbit characters at an accurate scale. “And you can take (the lens) off and put your cell phone on it to film it,” Taylor added.
Neither Jackson nor Taylor indicated when the script was written. Tintin 2 he might be ready to film, but The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum currently scheduled for release in December 2027.