How would have Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit looked as a duology?

Swings and roundabouts

While there surely would have been many differences between the shorter and longer iterations of Peter Jackson’s version of The Hobbit, they ultimately would have remained similar in approach. Thus, those disappointed with what Jackson has delivered may not have been impressed by even a two-film version -– and perhaps less so considering character moments probably would have been trimmed to accomodate a shorter running time.

It does seem certain elements would have enjoyed more attention in a duology. Bilbo’s backstory and more pointedly, the characterization of the dwarves (well-described in casting calls and supplementary material) have been downplayed in the trilogy. Many of the dwarves are bit players.

Others have been elaborated. We know that the Weathertop and Bree scenes were the result of re-shoots, while Evangeline Lilly, Orlando Bloom, Luke Evans and John Bell each stated that their characters ended up more involved than was originally planned. Azog may not initially been as prominent either. Ultimatly, Peter Jackson’s two-film version of “The Hobbit” joins his simiular “Lord of the Rings” duology as a “what might have been” in the history of cinema.

Thanks to Dcole4 for thoughts on orc story/Lake-town battle sequence.

Captain Salt has been a Tolkien fan since childhood when he played Gloin in a stage production of The Hobbit though as there were only about eight dwarves, he was given other dwarves’ dialogue as well, resulting in a rather strange Gloin who at times talked to himself in a Gollum-ish manner. He’s also volunteered through the years at other film sites and has written for (minor) entertainment publications.

The views presented in this article are his own and don’t necessarily represent TheOneRing.net or other staff.

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