Peter Jackson, who directed the belovedLord of the Ringstrilogy, was set to collaborate withAmazonon the upcoming prequel series,The Rings of Power,but for some reason, the studio ghosted him sometime after reaching out.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Poweris one of the most anticipated TV shows of the year, and Amazon has a lot riding on it. Amazon has put up almost half a billion dollars to produce the first season alone, so understandably they sought the expertise of Peter Jackson, who previously adapted J.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic books to great effect.
Jackson andThe Lord of the Ringsco-writer Fran Walsh were happy to oblige too, but Amazon never sent them the scripts forThe Rings of Powerafter promising to do so. Here’s what Jackson recently said onThe Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast.
“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.' 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, which is fine. No complaints at all.”
Related:Amazon Reportedly Chose The Rings of Power Over Young Aragorn and Gimli Spinoffs
Peter Jackson Is Excited to Watch The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Peter Jackson isn’t one to dwell on matters of the past, even though Amazon snubbed him after getting his hopes up. In fact, Jackson is looking forward to watchingThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Poweras a “neutral viewer.”
“I’ll be watching it. I’m not the sort of guy who wishes ill will. Filmmaking is hard enough. If somebody makes a good film or TV show, it’s something to celebrate. The one thing I am looking forward to is actually seeing it as a perfectly neutral viewer.”
As for those wondering why Amazon left Peter Jackson hanging after promising to send him the scripts, apparently, it was over legal issues. Amazon Studios released the following statement in response to Jackson’s comments.
“In pursuing the rights for our show, we were obligated to keep the series distinct and separate from the films. We have the utmost respect for Peter Jackson and The Lord of The Rings films and are thrilled that he is looking forward to watching The Rings of Power.”
The Lord of the Ringsrights issueis complicated, but that’s no excuse to snub a filmmaker of Peter Jackson’s stature. Warner Bros. still owns the rights to the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, andThe Rings of Powerteam didn’t want to get in trouble trying to imitate Jackson’s style.
THR also reports that J.R.R. Tolkien’s estate was against involving Jackson inThe Rings of Power.Christopher Tolkien had previously slammed the moviesfor “eviscerating” his father’s books, and the estate had zero involvement in WB and New Line’sThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy. However, the Tolkien Estate is heavily involved withThe Rings of Power, which isn’t surprising considering Amazon paid them $250 million for the rights. Hopefully,The Rings of Powerwill be a worthy and satisfying adaptation of Tolkien’s legendary works.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerwill premiere on Amazon Prime Video on July 20, 2025.
