The Hobbit Sequel Bridge Film Discussion- Storyscape

The Hobbit Sequel ‘Bridge Film’ Discussion

Dol Guldur   The Necromancer's domain
Dol Guldur, by Joe Russell

Along with the exciting announcement that there is to be a film adaptation of The Hobbit, the filmmakers also confirmed there will a sequel to The Hobbit movie: a ‘Bridge Film’ covering events in the 60 years between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Unlike the other Middle Earth movies, The Hobbit Sequel will not be a direct adaptation of a Tolkien book, and will instead have to draw on much leaner materials that relate to this time period in the mythology.

The Bridge Film is a somewhat controversial idea- the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy showed an admirable respect for the source material and this contributed significantly to the artistic success of the films. This vague Hobbit Sequel concept opens the filmmakers to accusations of diluting Tolkien’s vision in favour of extending the lucrative film franchise.

On the other hand, the scriptwriters have already shown in the film trilogy their skill in rearranging and weaving Tolkien’s story elements into new and rich combinations, and they would argue there is sufficient material within the books for a successful and authentic Hobbit Sequel story.

This discussion aims to get to the bottom of the likely content of the film, and its potential to deliver a great story that adds to the cinematic vision of Middle Earth. The film must do more than link between the existing films- it should tell a gripping story in its own right, with character development, relationships, conflicts and a satisfying story arc.

The main discussion is summarised in-

There are also in-depth discussions of particular story threads-

Feel free to post any comments you have below or to send me an email.