LORD OF THE RINGS helmer Peter Jackson has been quoted in various trade publications saying that he would love to make J.R.R. Tolken’s prequel to the RINGS series, THE HOBBIT into a feature. Jackson said if he were presented the chance, he would work with some of the same actors he worked with on the RINGS trilogy. If Jackson gets his wish, it would come after his remake of KING KONG, which is next on the director’s plate as well as his visual effects house, Weta in New Zealand.

However, the main stumbling block for New Line to attain the rights to THE HOBBIT is the Tolken estate. The majority of Tolken’s heirs have rallied against Jackson’s adaptation of the RINGS series. Christopher Tolken, the custodian and literary executor of his late father's estate, has said that he believes that none of his father's other works could be adequately transformed into films. J.R.R. Tolken sold the RINGS rights in 1969 for £10,000.