‘Lord of the Rings’ TV Series: Amazon Execs Weigh in on Possible Peter Jackson Involvement

Peter Jackson directed six films within The Lord of the Rings franchise, making him intrinsically linked with the adventures of Middle Earth. The filmmaker has previously shared that he has no involvement with the upcoming Amazon Studios TV series based on the property, though Amazon execs aren’t ruling out Jackson’s involvement at some point.

“We don’t have any news on Peter Jackson,” Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios Television, shared with SlashFilm. “There hasn’t been any negativity around it. We just don’t have any news on that yet and what his involvement may be.”

Albert Cheng, co-head of TV for Amazon Studios, added, “He is aware of what’s happening.”

These comments certainly don’t imply that Jackson will have any direct involvement, or even confirm that Amazon wishes he was involved, but they definitely don’t rule out the possibility. Jackson’s involvement in bringing the world of J.R.R. Tolkien dates back more than two decades when he first began developing the original trilogy of films. The filmmaker returned to the world for The Hobbit trilogy, making him an invaluable asset in adapting the iconic works.

Jackson himself, however, previously shared that he hasn’t had any involvement with the project, though one plan was to have him take a look at scripts for the series.

“I don’t have thoughts on it because I haven’t seen [anything],” Jackson shared with Metro when asked about how the project is coming together. “I think they’re going to send us some scripts to see if we can help them along.”

He added, “I wish them all the best and if we can help them we certainly will try. It’s a big task.”

With the amount of time Jackson has spent thinking about Middle Earth, it’s also possible that he wants to remain completely detached from the developing project so that he can enjoy it the way other fans enjoyed his films.

“I’m kind of looking forward to it,” Jackson shared with ComicBook.com. “I was a guy who didn’t get to see The Lord of the Rings like everybody else because I had to make it, so I’m looking forward to seeing somebody else’s take on the Tolkien world.”

Last summer, Salke teased fans with what the approach to the series would be, confirming to Deadline that, rather than a massive shared world of various series, it would be “one big series.”

She added, “I think you can know that we’re not remaking the movies, but we’re also not starting from scratch. So, it’ll be characters you love.”

Stay tuned for details on The Lord of the Rings TV series.

Would you like to see Jackson get involved with the project? Let us know in the comments below!