“It looks like finally it’s going to be happening. I’ll be working on
it for the next three years — it’s going to consume a lot of my time
and work now.”
Straight from the horses mouth, via The Province.
While I doubt many folks were too nervous about Shore not returning to score the adventures of Middle Earth, let’s keep in mind that he and Jackson parted ways on King Kong,
after Shore had written nearly all of the music. There was never any
indication that the split was a nasty one, but it was enough to raise a
concern.
Shore, who has composed for dozens and dozens of films partnered with innumerable great directors, won two Oscars for his LOTR scores (Fellowship, and Return of the King).
Middle Earth simply wouldn’t sound the same without his epically
delicate orchestral pieces floating over the proceedings. Shore is as
innately tied to the DNA of the Tolkien films as Jackson or McKellen,
and it’s one more absolutely basic piece of the puzzle we can quit
worrying about. Now it’s that much easier to focus on watching the
production actually roll camera, and to hope the invented material adds
to the legacy rather than muddying it.