Amazon Asked Peter Jackson to Work On ‘Lord of the Rings’ Series

Is Peter Jackson working on the upcoming The Lord of The Rings television series? No. But he could have, and maybe would have, if the circumstances had worked out differently.

Amazon’s pricy J.R.R. Tolkien-based series is not a direct adaptation of the same books that Jackson turned into his massive blockbuster trilogy, but rather a prequel set in an earlier age on Middle-earth. Still, Jackson told The Hollywood Reporter that he was approached by Amazon to take some kind of creative role on the series — and didn’t say no.

“They asked me if I wanted to be involved — [writer-producer Fran Walsh] and I — and I said, ‘That’s an impossible question to answer without seeing a script,’” Jackson explained. “So they said, ‘As soon as we get the first couple scripts, we’ll send them to you.’ And the scripts never showed up. That’s the last thing I heard.”

Here is the most recent trailer for the series:

According to the show’s official plot synopsis, it “follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared reemergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the farthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.”

Without Jackson, the Lord of the Rings’ series was developed by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay. And ultimately, Jackson wasn’t bothered by how things turned out. He told THR them just never calling him back was “fine” and he had “no complaints at all” about the whole thing. I mean, he probably should be at peace with The Lord of the Rings at this point. What else is there even left for him to do?

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres on Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service on September 2.