By now we all know about Peter Jackson’s much anticipated Hobbit films which are based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s book The Hobbit, but did you know Tolkien himself is about to hit the big screen? Well sort of. Mirkwood, written by Steve Hillard, caught The Eye of the Tolkien Estate back in March of this year. In it, Hillard uses Tolkien as one of the main characters and sends him to New York City searching for lost documents.
“[Tolkien is] a man haunted by the very myths he rewove into his famous works. As much literary criticism as boisterous epic, this episodically-driven plot explores the blurred borderlands where ancient tales, lost heroines, and epic journeys are stalked by dim monsters that will not be still. In 1970, Professor Tolkien makes a little-known visit to America-and sets in motion elvish powers embodied in a cache of archaic documents. Destinies are altered, legends become real, and two heroines must race for their lives in vastly different worlds.“
The Estate cried fowl and demanded all copies of the book be disposed of, however, now it seems they’ve come to an agreement and not only will the book survive but it is also in the process of becoming a Hollywood script. EMO Films and Steve Hillard plan to make Mirkwood into a blockbuster hit, providing there are no more issues where the word “copyright” is involved. As the author of the novel explains,
“The adaptation of ‘Mirkwood’ will follow the template of the novel, but will delve considerably deeper into Tolkien’s little-known back story, such as his original plans to become a codebreaker in World War II up through the writing of his enduring works.”
Whether EMO Films and Steve Hillard’s plans come to fruition or not, Tolkien fans will be revisiting Middle-earth next year when The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hits theaters on December 14, 2012 and The Hobbit: There and Back Again premiers the following year on December 13, 2013.
