#1 – The Dark Tower
While Ron Howard and Akiva Goldsman are working on adapting Stephen King’s magnum opus, Peter Jackson is the man with the visual talent to tell such a sprawling story on the big screen. While Jackson may not be looking to dedicate himself to yet another massive, multi-film endeavor, there are few director’s with the experience and skill to take such a complicated written work and make achieve it for an audience. Still, we can dream.
#2 – The Dam Busters
First time director Christian Rivers began developing THE DAM BUSTERS remake in 2008 with Jackson as a producer. Since then, we have not heard much about the World War II action film. At this point, Jackson should just take over the project himself and we would be in for quite the spectacle. We know Jackson can handle aerial scenes thanks to KING KONG, so let’s see this movie in all it’s 3D glory.
#3 – Halo
Another project that Peter Jackson has been involved with in the past, HALO has been adapted as web series and brilliant live action commercials, and yet we have not seen the epic film that the story deserves. It should not be this hard to make a movie based off such a cinematic video game, especially with the development time Jackson has already dedicated to the project.
#4 – John Carter
Would Andrew Stanton’s JOHN CARTER have been made if not for THE LORD OF THE RINGS? Probably not. So, with the estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs looking to reboot the science fiction series after the box office disaster that was the Disney version, why not recruit one of the top names in epic filmmaking working today?
#5 – Bleeding Edge
Paul Thomas Anderson is receiving critical acclaim for his adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s INHERENT VICE. So, why not have another acclaimed filmmaker take a stab at the works of the author? Revolving around the September 11th attacks and the development of the Internet, BLEEDING EDGE would be very different from anything Jackson has made to date but would absolutely benefit from his style and scope of directing.
#6 – Temeraire
Peter Jackson has previously mentioned that he was interested in making the TEMERAIRE series of novels into either feature films or a television mini-series. There has not been much movement since 2009 when Jackson shared fears if he made one film and it flopped that the rest of the story would never be told. But, the idea of the Napoleonic Wars being fought with the aid of dragons is too cool to not be made.
#7 – The Adventures of Tintin 2
While Spielberg and Jackson continue to promise we will see another big screen outing based on the world famous Herge comics, the release date for THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN sequel keeps getting pushed further and further back. Right now, it seems to be slated for 2016, but with no mention from Jackson, that may get pushed yet again.
#8 – A Confederacy of Dunces
Long considered to be unfilmable, this is exactly the type of project Jackson could tackle the same way he did with THE LORD OF THE RINGS. In keeping with his desire to make smaller films that are not as special effects heavy, this comedic epic could be a masterpiece. Maybe Will Ferrell is still interested in playing Ignatius J. Reilly?
#9 – Mortal Engines
Peter Jackson has previously discussed making Phillip Reeve’s novels into a film so why not tackle it now? The books are set in a post-apocalyptic London which has reverted to a Victorian setting. The steampunk technology would allow Jackson to make a scifi epic using the same WETA tools he had for THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Whether he makes all four novels into films is doubtful, but I would love to see his take on the material.
#10 – The Silmarillion
While Peter Jackson may be unable to film additional stories that take place in Middle Earth, I hope that changes someday. He has proven he cares for the source material quite a bit and would be one of the few directors who could do it right. To keep things consistent, why not allow him to direct the origin of Middle Earth and the first wars amongst the elves?
