The Beatles wanted to play the Hobbits in a Lord of the Rings film directed by Stanley Kubrick

Two of the biggest names in pop culture phenomena in the 20th century were the band The Beatlesand the book series The Lord of the Rings by author JRR Tolkien. The Beatles were a musical sensation that took the world by storm, who are still relevant and loved today, while the novels are also highly regarded and re-read by fans for generations, with films breaking records and winning awards for their ability to portray fictional stories Once upon a time, those two worlds almost collided, but it didn’t come to fruition.

The Beatles were big fans of Tolkien’s Middle-earth series and once hoped they could play the Hobbits in a film adaptation of the books. In Ian Nathanthe book of, Everything You Can Imagine: Peter Jackson and the Creation of Middle-earth, the author explained that several decades ago, the Beatles had the idea to bring them to the screen in the county. They already had a film deal with United Artists, and why the whole band loved The Lord of the Rings novel, they launched their concept. They would be part of the cast and provide music. John Lennon spearheaded their efforts and they unexpectedly knocked on the director Stanley Kubrick’S (The brilliant) door to ask him to direct.

Nathan explained:

“Kubrick, with four Liverpool superstars standing at his door uninvited, did the right thing and asked them in for tea. He listened to their offer, he was very kind, but he admitted it wasn’t for him. He was planning a colossal life of Napoleon, which would ultimately fail when MGM decided that epics were no longer commercial.

This story has even been confirmed in the future sad director Peter Jackson years later, when she met the former Beatle, Paul McCartney. According to Nathan’s book, Jackson met McCartney at an Oscar event when Return of the king won major awards. Astonished and nervous, Jackson asked McCartney about the Beatles’ attempted fit The Hobbit AND THE Lord of the Rings as a musical film project.

Jackson told Nathan:

“Paul would have played Frodo, George would have played Gandalf, John was Gollum and Ringo was Sam, I think. And he said they all showed up at Stanley Kubrick’s house to try and convince him to be the director. I wish I was a fly on the wall for that.

During Jackson’s chat with McCartney, the musician also shared that they’ve never bothered to ask another director why “Tolkien killed him.”

The Beatles were incredible musicians, but I’ll admit, their filmmaking efforts were less than stellar. I think it’s probably best to end up with Peter Jackson and his Hobbit cast in the movies that he made. What do you think? Do you think the Beatles are the stars of The Lord of the Rings could it be okay?

Via: CheatSheet