It could happen….

With a release date of 14 December set for the most recent bit of Peter Jackson epic brilliance, could the Lord of the Rings director possibly be targeting an episode of Doctor Who as his next project? If so, his number one fan will be Matt Smith, according to a recent interview the 11th Doctor did with the Waikato Times in New Zealand. This isn’t as crazy as it sounds when you start putting the pieces together. Follow me here…

• In a recent interview, Sir Peter, himself, told the Times: “I’m a huge Doctor Who fan, and I think Matt’s fantastic. Just name a time and place, and I’ll be there!“
• Sir Peter is also a Doctor Who fan. In addition to hiring the 7th Doctor, Sylvester McCoy, for The Hobbit, Jackson acquired McCoy’s costume from his time on the show.
• Jackson hired Doctor Who show runner Steven Moffat to write the screenplay to Tintin.
• Matt Smith, who met Jackson at the San Diego Comic Con International convention, would welcome the thought of filming an episode in New Zealand. He told the Waikato Times, ‘‘Hey, let’s get Peter Jackson to direct one and go and make it in New Zealand. I would love to, I will campaign endlessly to come over and film there.’’

What better announcement could possibly kick off plans for the upcoming Doctor Who 50th in November 2013. When you think about it, with episodes from recent seasons of Doctor Who being shot on location in both Utah and New York, the precedent is set for cast and crew to venture beyond Cardiff and film a New Zealand episode. Before we get lost in the potential of a Peter Jackson/Steven Moffat/Matt Smith coming together in New Zealand, the newest trailer was just released for The Hobbit, starring Sherlock‘s Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins. Time to clear out December 14 on your calendar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1SJ7yaa7cI