Peter Jackson hadn't initially planned on a trilogy for The Hobbit, but his planned approach might have ruined The Lord of the Rings. The famed director made it big with his screen adaptations of author J.R.R. Tolkien's works when he was still relatively new to the game, and the Lord of the Rings films will forever be his legacy. Unfortunately, Jackson's The Hobbit movies failed to make the same level of impact. Breaking Tolkien's novel into three full movies was an unpopular decision, but as it turns out, this hadn't been the director's initial plan.

https://screenrant.com/hobbit-peter-jackson-original-plan-better-ruin-lord-of-the-rings/