I almost yipped aloud when I saw this tidbit from ComingSoon slide onto the top of my rss feeder on my desktop. Peter Jackson will produce The Hobbit and a sequel for New Line:The two "Hobbit" films – The Hobbit and its sequel – are scheduled to be shot simultaneously, with pre-production beginning as soon as possible. Principal photography is tentatively set for a 2009 start, with the intention of The Hobbit release slated for 2010 and its sequel the following year, in 2011.
Jackson's Lord of the Rings film triology remains among favorites for me, my husband and our nine-year-old daughter. I've read J.R.R. Tolkien's novels several times over my so-far lifetime, (one of those times, my husband and I read all three aloud while I was pregnant with our daughter; it was then we settled on her middle name, Lorien, after the elven forest in Middle-earth) and I'm among those who believe Jackson remained incredibly faithful to them, creating a visual feast that seemed to almost seamlessly walk off their pages. As a result, the films carried many of Tolkien's themes--and thus much of it's God-talk. Tolkien's work is the premium example of how themes common to fantasy echo biblical truths and themes: good versus evil, a quest for truth, a fight for right-ness, hope, sacrifice, nature of love, redemption, faith, community, etc. All of these are dominant themes in Scripture and they run through the Rings (and The Hobbit), too.
So, I for one, am relieved and excited to hear Jackson is helming our next venture into Middle-earth.