‘The Hobbit’ Trilogy: Peter Jackson Announces Third Movie On Facebook

It took Peter Jackson three movies to tell the complete story for The Lord Of The Rings, and it looks like he’ll be taking a similar approach for The Hobbit. Jackson, who is currently filming his adaptation of the famous J.R.R. Tolkien novel, announced today that he’ll be making three movies instead of two.

The story of The Hobbit was originally planned to be told over two movies, but after a few months of shooting the acclaimed director decided to make The Hobbit a trilogy.

Jackson wrote on Facebook:

“It is only at the end of a shoot that you finally get the chance to sit down and have a look at the film you have made. Recently Fran, Phil and I did just this when we watched for the first time an early cut of the first movie – and a large chunk of the second. We were really pleased with the way the story was coming together, in particular, the strength of the characters and the cast who have brought them to life. All of which gave rise to a simple question: do we take this chance to tell more of the tale? And the answer from our perspective as the filmmakers, and as fans, was an unreserved ‘yes.'”

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is slated for release on Dec. 14. The second movie, The Hobbit: There And Back Again, will be release a year later on Dec. 15, 2013. Jackson said that the third movie, which has not been title yet, will have a similar release date in 2014.

Jackson writes:

“It has been an unexpected journey indeed, and in the words of Professor Tolkien himself, ‘a tale that grew in the telling.’ So Without further ado and on behalf of New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Wingnut Films, and the entire cast and crew of “The Hobbit” films, I’d like to announce that two films will become three.”

Are you excited to see The Hobbit?

Here’s a trailer for the first movie in the trilogy.