Searching for the exact moment the Beatles broke up usually yields a dozen different dates and reasons. But before the band flew apart, a curious possibility emerged: the Fab Four taking part in an adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. Peter Jackson himself dug up the details, but the project fell apart for one simple reason: Tolkien said no.
Peter Jackson hasn't returned to the big screen since Mortal Engines, but his focus shifted to documentaries, especially the Beatles. The Get Back documentary was so massive it had to be split into three parts, with Jackson editing and restoring over 50 hours of footage shot during the making of Let It Be in 1970.
Calling Peter Jackson a "fan" of the Beatles is an understatement. When he visited Apple Corps in 2017, he essentially volunteered as director and producer. He left with a project that would consume the next four years of his life, but he also discovered something else: a connection to the universe that made him famous—The Lord of the Rings.
"The Lord of the Rings, ft. The Beatles"
The documentary production gave Jackson a unique chance to ask Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr about that odd adaptation. Ringo didn't remember much, but based on Paul's recollections, all signs point to Denis O'Dell, producer of the band's main film projects (A Hard Day's Night tops the list), who came up with the idea of making a version of The Lord of the Rings. O'Dell sent the books to the band during their retreat in India in early 1968. Ringo apparently never got his copy (he only stayed ten days there), but John, Paul, and George were thrilled.
Who would play whom? According to available info, Paul was to be Frodo, Ringo Sam, John Gollum, and George Gandalf, with Stanley Kubrick directing (he had just wrapped up 2001). However, the film never happened because J.R.R. Tolkien refused to negotiate the rights. Jackson explains that the author simply didn't like the idea of a band working on his story... and he feels a bit of regret. While he's happy he made the films, he still imagines a LotR soundtrack with 14 or 15 Beatles songs...
Source: BBC, Nov. 2021
