Harvey Weinstein had threatened to replace Peter Jackson on 'Lord of the Rings'

The Oscar-winning epic fantasy adventure ultimately spanned three instalments, with its first two films 'The Fellowship of the Ring' and 'The Two Towers' clocking in at just under three hours before the final chapter, 'The Return of the King', ran at nearly three and a half.

Washington: Though most 'Lord of the Rings' fans can't imagine another director than Peter Jackson at the helm, however, disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein had once threatened to replace him, suggests a new oral history of the blockbuster franchise.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, in a piece celebrating the 20 year anniversary of 'Fellowship of the Ring', a news outlet spoke to Jackson's manager Ken Kamins, among others involved with the franchise including stars Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom and Ian McKellen.

At one point while discussing the films' journey to the big screen, Kamins broached how Weinstein, who's currently serving time for felony sex crimes, used threats of replacing the New Zealand-born filmmaker with Quentin Tarantino as a means of forcing Jackson to condense the project's runtime.