As the biggest band to ever grace the music industry, the Beatles changed the face of mainstream music forever. They were the biggest stars during the world in their prime, and after releasing one classic album after the next, the guys made millions while their music continued to inspire generations of new musicians.
While at their peak, the group was interested in making others projects, including a few movies. At one point, the band, who had already dabbled in the movie game, wanted to make their own Lord of the Rings movie, but this never came to pass.
Let’s take a look at the Beatles’ attempt to make a Lord of the Rings movie.
The Beatles Are The Biggest Band Of All Time
Before taking a look at how the Beatles approached trying to make their own Lord of the Rings movie, it’s important to get context about the band and the trilogy itself. Back in the 1960s, the Beatles were the biggest band walking the planet, and even decades ago, the Lord of the Rings was one of the most celebrated book series of all time.
The Beatles essentially took over the world and conquered the 1960s with their take on pop and rock ‘n’ roll music. Comprised of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, the Beatles did nothing but shatter records during their time together, and even though it has been decades since they broke up, the band remains arguably the most important piece of mainstream music history.
The Lord of the Rings books made their way into the fold in the 1950s and they were a continuation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, which was released back in the 1930s. The series, much like the Beatles, has been a huge part of pop culture since it’s initial release, and in the years leading up to Peter Jackson’s trilogy, there were attempts at bringing the books to life on the big screen.
Turns out, the Beatles were interested in making their own Lord of the Rings flick, which seems odd from the outside looking in. There was, however, a reason for their wishes.
They Made Several Movies
During their years together, the Beatles made a number of films and even had a contract guaranteeing a certain number of films being made while they were together. These movies haven’t exactly gone down as classics like Citizen Kane, but for Beatles fans, they are in unique and fun part of the band’s history.
The band would star in films like A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, and Magical Mystery Tour. They even had the animated Yellow Submarine that they made, as well. Again, these movies weren’t exactly taking home Oscars, but it was still a really cool way for the band to express themselves outside of recording traditional rock music.
Because the band had such a vested interest in making movies, it does make sense that they would look for some outside inspiration for a film to work on. This ultimately led them to wanting to make a Lord of the Rings adaptation. In fact, the guys were so serious about it that they even had their roles picked out.
They Wanted To Make A ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Movie
According to Peter Jackson, who directed the Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy, “John Lennon was going to play Gollum, Paul McCartney Frodo, Ringo Sam and George was going to play Gandalf. They got so serious that they actually approached JRR Tolkien, who at that point still had the rights. They approached him and Tolkien said, ‘No.’”
Not only did the guys have their roles picked out, but they were even interested in landing Stanley Kubrick to direct the movie. For many fans, this sounds like a dream come true to have Kubric directing a Lord of the Rings flick, but it would have been quite different with the Beatles in tow. Nevertheless, the project was never able to get off the ground thanks largely to Tolkien’s dismissal of their request for film rights.
Fortunately, things worked out well for Tolkien, as Peter Jackson would deliver arguably the best film trilogy of all time during the 2000s. Even McCartney was thankful that it ended up in Jackson’s hands.
“Paul was very gracious; he said, ‘It was a good job we never made ours because then you wouldn’t have made yours and it was great to see yours,'” Jackson revealed.
The Beatles could have made an interesting Lord of the Rings flick, but we’re totally fine with settling on what Peter Jackson made.