Peter Jackson to direct animated remake of "The Lord of The Rings" scheduled for 2019

Peter Jackson hasn't had enough of the Tolkien universe - Today he revealed that an animated version of The Lord of the Rings will hit cinemas in 2019

At a press conference held this morning, Peter Jackson, the director behind the widely succesful

"The Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" trilogies, confirmed rumors about him diving back into the magical fantasy land we know as Middle Earth, this time, in an animated panache: The original Lord of The Rings trilogy is to be remade in animated format

This is what Jackson had to say.

- I'm not done with Tolkiens universe just yet, it truly is an awe-inspiring place that is simply too amazing not to make movies about; Middle Earth begs for more movies to made about it and I can't do anything but to heed that call.

The reason I've chosen to go ahead with an animated remake of The Lord of The Rings, is that technology has really caught up with my ultimate vision of how an animated Middle Earth would look,

- I feel like now is the time to achieve what I've envisioned for so long. The animated trilogy will also appeal to an entirely new generation, one that is used to experiencing stunning animations.

This project will, if I dare say so myself, blow the minds of LOTR fans worldwide.

The Lord of The Rings has previously been animated, as early as 1978, by Ralph Bakshi, and Peter Jackson said that he will draw inspiration from that film.

- That film is an early masterpiece and will probably be my biggest source of inspiration

Fans of the franchaise have reacted with mixed feelings - many are grateful that the Hobbit didn't mark the end of the adventure, but most are not too exhilirated by the news.

A particularly disenchanted twitter user said:

- This is bullsh*t, LOTR is a masterpiece, why ruin it with a cartoon #disappointed #MilkingTheCow

Cinema-goers will be able to see the new film in August 2019.

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