Peter Jackson almost had the perfect Lord of the Rings replacement, which, unfortunately, turned out to be an $83.7 million disappointment. Although Peter Jackson is best known for his work on the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogy, he has other notable films like King Kong, Heavenly Creatures, and The Beatles: Get Back under his belt. However, since the Lord of the Rings movies remain the highlight of his filmmaking career and left an indelible mark in cinema, it is hard to wonder if he will recreate another fantasy franchise that matches LOTR’s impact and legacy.
A closer look at the director’s line of work suggests that one film had the potential to be Lord of the Rings’ replacement. Like The Lord of the Rings, it was adapted from a well-known book series and had the scale to be turned into a full-fledged franchise. However, despite the potential, the book adaptation failed to impress viewers and critics when it premiered in 2018.
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Peter Jackson’s Original The Hobbit Plan Would’ve Been So Much Better (But Might Have Ruined Lord Of The Rings)
Peter Jackson had a different plan for The Hobbit in the 1990s, but if he had pulled it off, there’s no guarantee Lord of the Rings would’ve followed.
Mortal Engines Should’ve Been Peter Jackson’s LOTR Replacement
Mortal Engines had all the right ingredients to be the new Lord of the Rings
Peter Jackson did not direct the Mortal Engines movie. However, he produced and co-wrote its screenplay with the same team involved with The Lord of the Rings, which alone added immense credibility to the project. In addition, like Lord of the Rings, Mortal Engines was also primarily filmed in New Zealand and adapted from a renowned and acclaimed fantasy book series. With so much in common between Lord of the Rings and Mortal Engines, it made sense to see Mortal Engines as Peter Jackson’s big Lord of the Rings replacement.
Although Mortal Engines inclines more towards the dystopian sci-fi subgenre, the book series, like Lord of the Rings, has an expansive world-building that immerses readers with intricate descriptions of vast fantastical landscapes, political undertones, and character beats. Like Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and other visually stunning flicks like Avatar, Mortal Engines‘ VFX was produced by Wētā FX. Given how so many creative powerhouses were at Mortal Engines‘ helm, it should have been able to fill the void left by the conclusion of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Mortal Engines
Mortal Engines is a 2018 action/adventure film from director Christian Rivers and writer Peter Jackson. Based on the novel by Philip Reeve, Mortal Engines is set 1,000 years in a post-apocalyptic future where cities are turned into giant vehicles that try to destroy one another. The film stars Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Hugo Weaving, and Jihae Kim.
- Director
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Christian Rivers
- Release Date
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December 14, 2018
- Studio(s)
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Universal Pictures
- Writers
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Peter Jackson
, Philippa Boyens
, Fran Walsh - Cast
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Frankie Adams
, Robbie Sheehan
, Colin Salmon
, Hera Hilmar
, Ronan Raftery
, Stephen Lang
, Jihae
, Hugo Weaving - Budget
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$100million
Mortal Engines Movie Had A Lot Of Potential
Mortal Engines could have been a compelling fantasy movie franchise
On the surface, Mortal Engines primarily unfolds in a post-apocalyptic steampunk world where mobile cities move around and devour each other. As absurd as this idea may sound on paper, author Philip Reeve does an incredible job of using it as a narrative device to explore the destructive consequences of a concept called municipal Darwinism, where only the strongest city reigns supreme. In the books, Reeve creates an intriguing dynamic world where societal hierarchies are always in a state of flux, allowing the overarching storyline to instill a constant sense of thrill and novelty.
Although the film bombed at the box office and was critically panned after its release in 2018, it managed to get some things right, proving it had potential. For instance, from a visual standpoint, the film beautifully captures the grandeur of the original books’ world and even perfectly adds a layer of steampunk aesthetic to it. Even the opening moments of the film, where it introduces audiences to concepts like predator cities, great hunting grounds, and anti-traction league, are intriguing enough to hook viewers. Unfortunately, as soon as it expands these ideas, Mortal Engines struggles to maintain narrative coherence.
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Mortal Engines Cast & Character Guide
Mortal Engines bombed at the box office upon its release in 2018, which is a shame as it’s a unique world populated by a colorful cast of characters.
Why Mortal Engines Bombed At The Box Office
Stiff competition and lack of loyalty to source material contributed to the film’s failure
One of the biggest factors that contributed to Mortal Engines‘ commercial failure was its poor critical reception. The film currently stands at a 26% Rotten Tomatoes score, highlighting how critics unanimously disliked the film. Since Mortal Engines was adapted from a book series, Philip Reeve’s readers must have naturally been curious about how the movie would execute all the original ideas. While book-to-screen adaptations have to take some creative liberties to effectively traverse their source material to the audiovisual storytelling medium, the Mortal Engines movie drifted too far from the original novel.
Unlike successful adaptations like Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, Mortal Engines also dumps exposition instead of patiently building its overarching world. Against a hefty production budget of around $100–150 million, Mortal Engines barely earned a little over $80 million at the global box office. Its poor returns can also partially be attributed to the fact that it was released alongside Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Clint Eastwood’s The Mule. In its second week, Mortal Engines faced even more competition from franchise films like Aquaman and Bumblebee, further diluting its box office numbers.
Why Peter Jackson Still Doesn’t Have A True Lord Of The Rings Replacement
Lord of the Rings sets the bar a little too high
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is considered a masterpiece, and rightfully so, setting incredibly high standards for other fantasy book adaptations. Owing to this, even though Peter Jackson has been involved in other acclaimed fantasy dramas like The Hobbit, none of them have come close to recreating The Lord of the Rings‘ legacy. Modern fantasy franchises like Dune, Mad Max, and Avatar have also evolved audience expectations surrounding the genre, making them more discerning and demanding. This makes it even more challenging for filmmakers like Peter Jackson to find projects as scalable as the big franchises.
J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings itself was a monumental achievement in literature and still ranks among the best-selling books ever written. By capturing the essence of Tolkein’s works, Peter Jackson leveraged the books’ existing popularity and cinematic potential. Since not a lot of fantasy book series are capable of matching the high benchmark of storytelling that Tolkien sets with Lord of the Rings, it makes sense that a true Lord of the Rings replacement still does not exist.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a multimedia franchise consisting of several movies and a TV show released by Amazon titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The franchise is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series that began in 1954 with The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings saw mainstream popularity with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
- Movie(s)
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The Lord of the Rings (1978)
, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
, The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim - Created by
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J.R.R. Tolkien
- First Film
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The Lord of the Rings (1978)
- Cast
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Norman Bird
, Anthony Daniels
, Elijah Wood
, Ian McKellen
, Liv Tyler
, Viggo Mortensen
, Sean Astin
, Cate Blanchett
, John Rhys-Davies
, Billy Boyd
, Dominic Monaghan
, Orlando Bloom
, Christopher Lee
, Hugo Weaving
, Sean Bean
, Ian Holm
, Andy Serkis
, Brad Dourif
, Karl Urban
, Martin Freeman
, Richard Armitage
, James Nesbitt
, Ken Stott
, Benedict Cumberbatch
, Evangeline Lilly
, Lee Pace
, Luke Evans
, Morfydd Clark
, Mike Wood
, Ismael Cruz Cordova
, Charlie Vickers
, Markella Kavenagh
, Megan Richards
, Sara Zwangobani
, Daniel Weyman
, Cynthia Addai-Robinson
, Lenny Henry
, Brian Cox
, Shaun Dooley
, Miranda Otto
, Bilal Hasna
, Benjamin Wainwright
, Luke Pasqualino
, Christopher Guard
, William Squire
, Michael Scholes
, John Hurt - TV Show(s)
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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
- Character(s)
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Frodo Baggins
, Gandalf
, Legolas
, Boromir
, Sauron
, Gollum
, Samwise Gamgee
, Pippin Took
, Celeborn
, Aragorn
, Galadriel
, Bilbo Baggins
, Saruman
, Aldor
, Wormtongue
, Thorin Oakenshield
, Balin Dwalin
, Bifur
, Bofur
, Bombur
, Fili
, Kili
, Oin
, Gloin
, Nori
, Dori
, Ori
, Tauriel
, King Thranduil
, Smaug
, Radagast
, Arondir
, Nori Brandyfoot
, Poppy Proudfellow
, Marigold Brandyfoot
, Queen Regent Míriel
, Sadoc Burrows - Video Game(s)
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The Lord of the Rings Online
, Middle-Earth: Shadow of War
, The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum
, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria
