Elijah Wood is excited about part II

[Lairënuriel]

Rumour has it that the second movie made will be a narrative bridge between the Hobbit and LOTR.  This article reports that most of the cast are excited to come back.

http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2008/01/11/elijah-wood-wants-to-go-back-again-to-the-hobbit

[Beren One-Hand]

I read the article and it is intriguing.  But I'm not sure that having narrative bridge film is a great idea.  It seems like there'd have to be a lot of filler to make this kind of second film work.  I don't see the need to "bridge the gap" here.  Why not leave it as it is?  I'd watch it of course, but instead on making this kind of film, why not make The Children of Hurin into a film?