Peter Jackson Won’t Direct ‘Doctor Who’ Until 2014, At Least

For as long as producers and fans have touted the idea of 'Lord of the Rings' magnate Peter Jackson directing an episode of 'Doctor Who,' very little seems to have been set in stone, despite eagerness on either side. Most recently, another rumor broke this weekend that Jackson would finally direct Peter Capaldi in an episode of the upcoming series, though the rumor seems to have thoroughly been debunked.

Though it remains unclear where the rumor origingated (apart from showrunner Steven Moffat's words that Jackson directing was “entirely possible”), Deadline seems to have confirmed that Jackson will remain far too busy with 'The Hobbit' trilogy over the next few years to get involved with 'Doctor Who' filming.

What has happened is this: Jackson has been given an open-ended invitation to direct an episode of the series if he was ever available. It did not progress beyond that. The director is completely engrossed in the second and third installments of The Hobbit trilogy, and he will not be emerging from Middle Earth for the better part of two years.

It certainly makes sense, given that Jackson couldn't spare enough time from editing 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug' to make an appearance at Comic-Con 2013, so taking off a number of weeks to dive into the world of 'Doctor Who' would seem even more unlikely, at least until work on 'The Hobbit' died down. Then of course, we'll have Peter Jackson's adaptation of 'The Simillarion.'

“They don’t even have to pay me,” Jackson previously told Entertainment Weekly of his interest in directing an episode. “But I have got my eye on one of those nice new gold-colored Daleks. They must have a spare one (hint, hint).”

Disappointing, but what say you? Would you still want to see Peter Jackson directing an episode of 'Doctor Who' in the future?