The Hobbit- How To Expand The Adaptations

How do you make two films into three? Here's my guide...
Peter Jackson's recent announcement that the previously announced The Hobbit film adaptation will no longer be split into two instalments, instead forming an entire movie trilogy, has proved divisive among fans. Actually, that's an ever-so-slight understatement: the vast majority of Tolkien diehards seem to think the move to turn a book that's shorter than The Fellowship Of The Ring into three films is one of the most cynical cash-grabs of recent times. Well, I'm here to say that they're wrong, and so are you if you're of that same mindset. Why? Because this is Peter Jackson we're talking about. This is the man who was told to do the Lord Of The Rings in one film, yet convinced New Line that it was worthy of two, then three motion pictures- sound familiar? If that isn't reason enough for you, though, then here's more details on how The Hobbit has plenty of room for expansion when it hits the big screen. I've recently reread the book these past few days, so what you're reading comes straight from someone who recalls the source text inside out....

1. THERE AND BEFORE AGAIN- Anyone who opens up Tolkien's original novel will notice that immediately there's plenty of background context about Middle-Earth, the Shire, the Tooks and of course the Baggins set up by the author. Indeed, The Lord Of The Rings was much the same to a greater extent. The screenwriters had to work on showing the fall of Sauron, the corruption of the One Ring and the effects of Riddles In The Dark within just five minutes in their Fellowship Of The Ring adaptation, yet with the added screen-time provided here, there's plenty more time to explain where Bilbo came from, as well as what is happening with confirmed returning characters like Legolas and Saruman at the time of the book's opening.
2. GANDALF- It isn't long before the wizard Gandalf The Grey appears in The Hobbit, ushering young Bilbo into an unexpected journey (see what I did there?) across rivers, forests, caves and mountains. Yet perhaps what stands as the most interesting part of the wizard's role in this classic novel is not what he gets up to when in the company of Mr Baggins and his dwarf company, but indeed what he gets up to when he's not. There are a good handful of occasions where we see Gandalf 'disappear' off to new locations, with the protagonists left wondering how he could have slipped out of their notice. We've already seen footage of Gandalf's outer-Hobbit exploits explored in the first trailer for Part 1, An Unexpected Journey, and this is something that could be developed considerably in the latter two instalments. What was that famed wizard up to? Well, that leads me to my next point...
3. THE NECROMANCER- We find out later on in the tale that Gandalf has actually been convening with a council of wizards (including Saruman and Galadriel) on the threat posed by the sinister Necromancer in the North. Frequently, the wise man advises the Hobbit's company to avoid the North for fear of dangers far worse than Smaug The Dragon, and There And Back Again and the adaptation's finale could definitely make great use of footage to show just why we should too be scared of this dark evil. The Necromancer has been confirmed as being voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, who also voices Smaug, though we can expect big differences in terms of dubbing, and perhaps Smaug's ultimate demise will be placed in Part 2 and the rise of the Necromancer in Part 3 to help avoid confusion. The crucial part about the Necromancer in relation to the main LOTR trilogy? Again, onto my next point...
4. THE LORD OF THE HOBBITS- One potential way that Peter Jackson and his production team could easily expand the narrative of The Hobbit is to essentially extend its chronological reach as close to the events of The Lord Of The Rings as possible. We've already caught footage of Ian Holm's older Bilbo waving Frodo off, as well as writing letters explaining the events of his adventure in youth more clearly, and as long as it doesn't feel self-indulgent (i.e. we don't need the final shot to be Frodo saying 'Oh look, it's Gandalf!', this is still The Hobbit and not just a prequel!), then a more direct connection to the main trilogy could be a great move. Better yet, it would allow for a six-movie rewatch where we see the Necromancer become Sauron and then what happens to Sauron next, and really, who wouldn't want that?
5. THE APPENDICES- As if Peter Jackson hasn't already made it clear enough already- he has, it seems people just refuse to listen beyond the cash cynicism- he'll be looking at the Appendices of The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King and the extensive Simillarion sub-text for further Hobbit content, as both of these pieces contain large chunks of new details and story events that took place at the time six decades before the events of the trilogy. This should provide a huge leap in content for Jackson to plough, and while I doubt we'll see much of it in the completed An Unexpected Journey (which looks to take us from Chapters 1-8, just under the book's halfway point, encompassing up to 'Barrels Out Of Bond'), this new set of storylines should feature heavily in the final two films.

So there are just a few areas in which The Hobbit is rife for expansion, and I'm sure that there are plenty more Peter Jackson won't miss. Fundamentally, Jackson has already shown his extreme respect for the Rings franchise by a) making three incredible film adaptations and b) convincing New Line that he wants to tell the full Hobbit story, either by extended editions or as is now the case three films. This film adaptation could not be in safer hands, just as the Avengers series is safe now with Joss Whedon, so stop worrying and just get ready for another brilliant motion-picture trilogy! Feel free to leave your thoughts on the new trilogy via Facebook or Twitter or any of the other usual social networks I post the blog's articles on, and thanks as always for your continued support. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey strides into cinemas on December 14th.