Who The Beatles Would Have Played in Their Ill-Fated ‘Lord of the Rings’ Movie, According to Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy is an iconic adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s novels. However, the story was almost put to film before Jackson got his hands on it and would have starred The Beatles. While it never got approved, Jackson knows who The Beatles would have played if their Lord of the Rings movie became a reality.
The Beatles wanted to make a ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie
Jackson recently produced The Beatles: Get Back on Disney+, a three-part, almost eight-hour documentary series featuring never-before-seen footage of The Beatles. In an interview with BBC, the New Zealand director said he had the opportunity to ask Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr about the Lord of the Rings project.
“What I understand is that Denis O’Dell, who was their Apple film producer, who produced The Magic Christian, had the idea of doing Lord of The Rings. When they (The Beatles) went to Rishikesh and stayed in India, it was about three months with the Maharishi at the beginning of 1968, he sent the books to The Beatles. I expect because there are three, he sent one book to each of the Beatles. I don’t think Ringo got one, but John, Paul, and George each got one Lord of The Rings book to read in India. And they got excited about it.”
However, Jackson says Tolkien stopped the project from being developed.
“Ultimately, they couldn’t get the rights from Tolkien because he didn’t like the idea of a pop group doing his story. So it got nixed by him. They tried to do it. There’s no doubt about it. For a moment in time, they were seriously contemplating doing that at the beginning of 1968.”
Which characters would The Beatles have played?
During the interview, Jackson addressed who The Beatles would have played if their Lord of the Rings movie happened. Rumors for the movie saw McCartney playing Frodo, Starr playing Sam, John Lennon playing Gollum, and George Harrison playing Gandalf. The band also wanted Stanley Kubrick to direct it. Jackson does not deny these rumors.
“Paul couldn’t remember exactly when I spoke to him, but I believe that is the case,” Jackson said.
The Beatles weren’t known for their acting talents, but they did have experience in movies like Help!, A Hard Day’s Night, and Yellow Submarine. However, Lord of the Rings would have been a difficult task for them as actors.
Peter Jackson is curious to know what the band’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie would look like
Jackson shared that McCartney told him he’s happy The Beatles did not make a Lord of the Rings movie as it would have taken the opportunity away from the director. However, Jackson is still curious to know what the band’s film would have looked like, especially since it would have been a musical.
“Paul said, ‘Well I’m glad we didn’t do it, because you got to do yours, and I liked your film.’ But I said to him, ‘Well, it’s a shame you didn’t do it, because it would have been a musical.’ What would The Beatles have done with a Lord of The Rings soundtrack album? That would have been 14 or 15 Beatles songs that would have been pretty incredible to listen to. So I’ve got two minds about it. I would have loved to hear that album, but I’m also glad I got the chance to do the films. But those songs would have been fascinating.”
Jackson made The Lord of the Rings a wildly successful franchise, and it has been given new life with The Rings of Power, the epic, groundbreaking series now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
