The details are scarce on Amazon’s and Warner Bros.’ upcoming Middle-earth show, but they’re enough to get any fan excited by the prospect of this major production. Amazon is readying a massive budget to see it realized. They’re committed to multiple seasons from the get-go. The stories will supposedly focus on early events during the Third Age, with rumors circulating that season one will center primarily on a young Aragorn. Peter Jackson may be brought in to help work on the series.

Okay, except that last one. That one’s a little scary.

I’m not here to trash Mr. Jackson’s entire body of work or belittle his enormous contributions to the Middle-earth franchise. He is immortalized in the film industry with The Lord of the Rings films, which will forever stand as three of the greatest cinematic achievements of all time.

But 2003 was a long time ago, and this series is not The Lord of the Rings. If Peter Jackson will be brought on to contribute to Amazon’s show, it better be strictly as a form of a producer, or, preferably, a mere consultant. Keep him away from the director’s chair.

The last time he held that position on a Middle-earth project, the brand’s impeccable reputation was sullied. The Hobbit trilogy’s combined $2.9 billion gross was an ephemeral accomplishment compared to the lasting damage that was done by those film’s inconsistent quality, and, particularly, the underwhelming final entry. For a time, the Middle-earth name had to be associated with such blunders like excessive CGI, bloated, ridiculous action, and forced romantic subplots that gave us the cringeworthy exchange of —

“Why does it hurt so much?”

“Because it was real.”

Before The Hobbit trilogy, Middle-earth’s name in cinema was immaculate. Afterward, and forever on, it had to carry the flaws of a bombastic adaptation that never should have be given three films, in the first place.

Working on a serial story, with each episode having a strict running time, would certainly reign in Jackson’s recent habit of overstuffing his works beyond what is necessary (2005’s King Kong also says “hello”). But even if Jackson’s style of direction didn’t come with a single concern in the world, he would be best reserved for an advisory role rather than something hands-on.

Every live-action production to date in the Middle-earth franchise has been fashioned through Jackson’s vision. This a multi-billion dollar franchise with decades of history behind it, featuring lore that’s vast enough to fill a library, has made one of the greatest impacts on fiction that any property can claim, and almost everything to come out of this century has been shaped by a single man.

A franchise so sprawling and so diverse needs new perspectives. As Middle-earth enters an uncharted medium for itself, tackling storylines and premises that have never been fully adapted into prose, never mind visual storytelling, it can’t be molded by the same hands that it’s been for nearly two decades. If this Amazon series will feature a broad range of fresh settings and time periods as it is rumored to, only a broad range of creative minds can successfully bring Middle-earth to a new place of prominence.

By all means, let Mr. Jackson offer his ideas, but do not let him build those ideas. Let some new talent do the construction, this time around.

Jeff Pawlak is one of many Middle-earth fanatics on The Geekiverse, maybe the biggest of them all (he did beat co-founder Josiah in a match of Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit) He’s a fantasy author, himself, so Tolkien’s works are held in the highest regard by him. Find him on Twitter @JeffreyPavs

If you want to see more fresh Geeky content, support us through our Official Patreon Page & simultaneously earn perks & exclusive rewards.

If you enjoyed this article, be sure to keep up with The Geekiverse across social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram and share with a friend. View live video game streaming on our Twitch Channel. Watch The Geekiverse Show on YouTube and listen to The Geekiverse Podcast Station on iTunes or Soundcloud today!