Peter Jackson has discussed his plans for life after The Hobbit trilogy, Digital Spy said.

Principal photography on the director's second Middle-earth movie series wrapped shooting in summer, with the final film The Hobbit: There and Back Again due for release in December 2014.

Jackson told The New Zealand Herald that he is keen to move away from "Hollywood blockbusters" after completing the trilogy, and focus on New Zealand-set projects.

"We have got a few bits and pieces that we are working on, Fran [Walsh] and I," he said. "The things that we are most excited about are some New Zealand stories.

"We just want to step off the Hollywood blockbuster thing for a while and we've had a few New Zealand stories in line for a while that we think would make great films."

He went on to suggest that these films would be close to "the Heavenly Creatures mode", referring to his 1994 psychological drama, adding that he would have returned to this mode sooner had it not been for the decision to make The Hobbit and expand it into three films.

"In some respects, in terms of my remaining film-making career, this was a five-year chunk that was kind of taken out of it unexpectedly," he explained. "My future is five years less than I thought it was."

Jackson has previously stated that his long-planned Tintin sequel is on course for a 2015 release.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug will be released on December 13, 2013.