Over 50 Years Ago, The Lord Of The Rings Was Quietly Saved By Being “Unfilmable”

Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy may have never been made if earlier attempts by one of the most acclaimed and celebrated filmmakers of all time had been successful. Originally, J. R. R. Tolkien published his novel, The Hobbit in 1937, and it immediately got a spectacular reception. But in 1954, Tolkien began releasing the sequel trilogy of books, collectively known as The Lord of the Rings.

This is when things started to heat up even more, with numerous groups approaching Tolkien about adaptations of his work. And one particularly quirky concept was being developed in the late 1960s by the United Artists, who hoped to cast The Beatles as prominent characters in the story.

The Beatles would also produce music for the film, and in an effort to secure more attention, the UA sought out a notable director to spearhead the project, and they pitched it to none other than Stanley Kubrick. However, despite his remarkable talents and his recent success with 2001: A Space Odyssey before being pitched The Lord of the Rings, Kubrick turned it down deeming the story “unfilmable.”

The Beatles’ Lord Of The Rings Movies Probably Wouldn’t Have Aged Well

Realistically speaking, The Lord of the Rings film, but with The Beatles, sounds like a psychedelic adventure produced by an acid trip rather than a real film concept. And according to varying reports, it seems as though each member of the band had different characters they wished to play, with Paul McCartney being tagged to play Frodo, Ringo Starr set to play Sam, George Harrison tackling Gandalf, and rumors that John Lennon had an interest in playing either Frodo, Gandalf, or Gollum.

The resulting film, with a soundtrack by the band, would have undoubtedly been an eventful experience, but that doesn’t mean it would have been any good.

Ultimately, it’s a good thing that the film wasn’t made, because it would have no doubt sent the franchise in a very different direction and potentially soiled the property for later filmmakers like Peter Jackson, who actually delivered a compelling, tense, and epic iteration of the story.

How Stanley Kubrick Ended Up Being Wrong About The Lord Of The Rings

Credit: MovieStillsDB

Of course, one of the most surprising details about this story is also the fact that Stanley Kubrick, who was well known for his ambitious films, was making an impact across Hollywood and the globe, turned the project down. Evidently, The Lord of the Rings novels were absolutely massive, and it would be a challenge to compress the story into anything less than three feature-length films, but Kubrick appears to have immediately been reluctant.

Potentially, his work on 2001: A Space Odyssey opened his eyes to the limitations of what was possible with cinema at the time, as he went to great lengths to create aliens in that film that still ended up looking more than a little uncanny. So, calling the movie “unfilmable” back in the late 1960s probably wasn’t far off the mark.

However, Peter Jackson’s spectacular trilogy certainly proved those words wrong just 30 years later. With one of the most incredible and ambitious projects in film in modern history, shooting three films back to back and ultimately still only being able to cut them down to over three hours each (and over four hours each on the extended editions), this saga proved to be truly massive.

Today, The Lord of the Rings films by Peter Jackson have helped to spread the story even more broadly, and continue to inspire further spin-offs, adaptations, and explorations of the imaginative and rich world of Middle-earth. And despite technology continuing to improve at breakneck speed, Jackson’s work still stands up today, nearly thirty years later.