The new Amazon series Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power airs its first episode on September 2, but we apparently won’t be seeing a Peter Jackson cameo in the show even though its creators had a chance to make it happen.
Jackson told The Hollywood Reporter this surprising fact recently on the Awards Chatter podcast. He said the show’s writer/producer Fran Walsh contacted him asking if he wanted to be “involved,” which meant the door could’ve been open for performing a cameo, simply providing writing advice, or even joining the creative team in some capacity.
The director of The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies apparently responded with “that’s an impossible question to answer without seeing a script,” and said Walsh promised he would see the first couple of scripts once they were finished.
Jackson said that was the last he heard from them, but clarified he has “no complaints at all.”
Jackson was clear that he had no ill will towards the filmmakers for reaching out, and also said “I’m not the sort of guy who wishes ill will. Filmmaking is hard enough. If someone makes a good film or TV show, it’s something to celebrate. The one thing I am looking forward to is seeing it as a perfectly neutral viewer.”
A representative for Amazon Studios told THR “in pursuing the rights for our show, we were obligated to keep the series distinct and separate from the films.”
The J.R.R Tolkien estate notably did not support Jackson’s original LOTR trilogy with his son Christopher Tolkien calling them lacking in “beauty and seriousness.”
Perhaps due to the delicate negotiations to secure the estate’s approval, Amazon didn’t want to rock the boat legally with Jackson’s involvement.
The issue with the original films being the copyright of Warner Bros. was also a sticking point, as well as certain executives who particularly wanted Jackson involved in the show departing the company.
