Gollum, Beatles and Three Scripts: Peter Jackson Breaks His Silence on What’s Next

It’s been a while since Peter Jackson stood behind the camera of a major feature. In fact, not since The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies wrapped in 2014 has the Oscar-winning director tackled a narrative film. But despite the long pause, Jackson insists he hasn’t walked away from cinema. "No, I’m not retired," he recently told Screen Rant. "We are currently working on three different screenplays."

One of them, The Hunt for Gollum, is already moving ahead — though it’s Andy Serkis, not Jackson, in the director’s chair this time. Jackson is producing and co-writing the project, giving Serkis the chance to return to his most iconic role. It’s unclear what the two other scripts are about, but Jackson seems content to stay mostly behind the scenes — for now.

Since stepping back from epic fantasy, Jackson’s focus has shifted toward documentaries, including the remarkable WWI film They Shall Not Grow Old and the acclaimed The Beatles: Get Back. That collaboration with the Fab Four’s archive may not be over, either. As Jackson hinted, "I’ve enjoyed doing various things with The Beatles, which is great, and that'll probably carry on."

Whether or not he returns to directing, Jackson’s world-building instincts clearly haven’t dulled. And with three projects quietly brewing, it may just be a matter of time before we see his name in the credits again — perhaps not in Middle-earth, but somewhere just as magical.