Peter Jackson in talks for Hobbit trilogy

With the end of the Batman story by Christopher Nolan in sight as it releases worldwide this weekend, Warner Bros Studios could gain a new franchise as director Peter Jackson's The Hobbit could be the next blockbuster trilogy.

With the end of the Batman story by Christopher Nolan in sight as it releases worldwide this weekend, Warner Bros Studios could gain a new franchise as director Peter Jackson's The Hobbit could be the next blockbuster trilogy.

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Jackson is negotiating with the film studios to extend his original plan for The Hobbit, a film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic book, as a two-parter to a three-part film series.

Filming was completed on The Hobbit in early July, but at Comic-Con a couple weeks ago, Jackson mentioned possibly shooting more footage.

With the adaptation now in the editing phase of production, a report in the Los Angeles Times suggests Jackson believes there is enough material for a trilogy, especially with the appendices to The Lord of the Rings.

If a third Hobbit film is green-lighted, it would require additional footage, which also means making arrangements with the actors, such as Martin Freeman and Ian McKellen.

The first film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, will be released in December, followed by the second, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, in December 2013. A third film, if decided on, it would probably be released in 2014.