‘The Hobbit The Desolation Of Smaug’ Director Peter Jackson Will Shift To ‘Smaller’ Films After ‘Hobbit’ Series

Peter Jackson is now the master of the fantasy genre. After the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, he follows up with "The Hobbit."

Fans hope that the Fantasy films keep on coming. Grand, big-budget productions and an unprecedented gathering of A-list actors are hard to resist, and Jackson has the clout to assemble that combination. With the liberties that he took in expanding the Hobbit story (they expanded the storyline and introduced new characters), it is logical to think that he and his team of writers can concoct their own fantasy series after the trilogy is over.

However, Jackson shoots down that prospect and hints at an entirely different direction. In an interview with the New Zealand Herald:

" We have got a few bits and pieces that we are working on, Fran(Walsh, writer) and I. The things that we are most excited about are some New Zealand stories. We just want to step off the Hollywood blockbuster thing for a while and we've had a few New Zealand stories in line for a while that we think would make great films. The 'Heavenly Creatures' mode really. But one thing has led to another and we have never had time. We've made a conscious decision that in the limited years we have left to make movies to tell some New Zealand stories... In some respects in terms of my remaining film-making career this was a five-year chunk that was kind of taken out of it unexpectedly. My future is five years less than I thought it was. I thought if I am going to do that I am actually going to enjoy it. I am going to have fun. Hopefully, that is reflected on the screen, too."

"Heavenly Creatures" is a 1994 film that Jackson and Walsh directed and wrote (respectively) about two girls who conspired to murder one's mother. It starred Kate Winslet and was based on a true story.

From the same interview, Jackson was asked about criticism for Tolkien purists for his revisions and additions to the story (for example, Legolas is not in 'The Hobbit' and Tauriel is a new character entirely): "Ah, not really. I don't pay a hell of a lot of attention. Every time you do something people are going to like it, people are going to hate it. You tend to make the movies on the basis you are making them for the people who are going to like them and not worrying too much about people who don't like them."

Finally, a teaser on the title character of The Hobbit: "Smaug is not Jaws or a monster. Smaug is a psychopath. Smaug is literally a cunning, intelligent psychopath who is laying in wait for these guys."