Comic-Con 2012: "Lord of the Rings" Prequel "The Hobbit" Split Into 3 Movies? (Video)

Director Peter Jackson speaks during a panel for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" during the Comic Con International convention in San Diego, California July 14, 2012.(Photo : Reuters)

By Zanub Saeed

In the same vein as the recent announcement that "The Hunger Games" would have its third installment, "Mockingjay," split into two movies, "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson stated that he is considering splitting the second part of "The Hobbit" into two movies.

This would mean that the films based on the prequel to "Lord of the Rings," J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit," will not be made into two movies as originally announced, but into three movies. Jackson made the comment during Comic-Con International in San Diego this past weekend.

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"That's a discussion we're having, yeah," Jackson told Entertainment website HitFix. "We have certainly been talking to the studio about some of the material we can't film, and we've been asking them so we can do a bit more filming next year. Which, I don't know what would come of that, whether it'd be extended editions or whatnot. But those discussions are ongoing."

Jackson explained further what he would like to add into "The Hobbit" if there was a consideration of a three-movie split.

"I'd like to shoot a bunch more material that we [couldn't] shoot. There's so much good stuff in the appendices that we haven't been able to squeeze into these movies," Jackson told HitFix, referring to the appendix sections found at the end of "The Return of the King" detailing more background on Middle Earth and its history.

Jackson was joined by "The Hobbit" stars Martin Freeman, who plays the titular role, along with "Lord of the Rings" alumni Andy Serkis, Elijah Wood, and Ian McKellan, during a Comic-Con panel discussion of the series and 12-minute preview of the potential trilogy, along with a 15-minute behind-the-scenes look at the series, with cast and crew interviews.

The first installment of the possibly trilogy, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," is set for a December 14 release, with the second film scheduled to be released a year after. No word yet on what would change if the second of the two was split as well.