Del Toro May Direct Hobbit

Guillermo Del Toro. He even looks a little like Pete.
© Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

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UPDATE: Just because Hollywood Reporter or Variety say it's a lock, that doesn't mean it's a lock: That's my new rule. I've been directed to quotes from Guillermo del Toro that indicate the talks are still ongoing and have not been finalized. "The reality is that the Hobbit story has broken early, because the negotiations have not ended and The Hobbit is not a sure thing," the director says, as quoted at MarketSaw (which maintains Jackson is likely to direct at least one of the Hobbit films). "I will know that it's happening when we have the final word and I am fully and officially on board."

Original story based on early news reports:

Fans upset that Peter Jackson will executive produce, but not direct, the two Hobbit pictures currently in development may be able to rest a little easier.

Guillermo del Toro, who has already brought a number of exceptional fantasy films to screen – particularly the Oscar-nominated Pan's Labyrinth and the visually evocative Hellboy – was revealed as Peter Jackson's personal choice to direct the films. The choice of director was make-or-break for The Hobbit, with the much-loved Jackson out of the chair; fans are expected to react positively to del Toro.

One slight snag is that del Toro is an extremely busy boy, with no fewer than 20 feature titles currently in development or in production as either director, writer, or producer, according to IMDb (including the nearly complete Hellboy II, set to be released in July); hopefully he'll be able to clear his desk a bit before embarking on the all-consuming Hobbit shoot in New Zealand.

Del Toro and Jackson will work hand-in-hand overseeing the adaptation of the Tolkien novel, according to The Hollywood Reporter; no screenwriter has yet been hired, thanks to the writers' strike, but expect an announcement very soon after the strike is ended. Fran Walsh is also executive producer on the two films.

The first Hobbit film is slated for release in 2010, most likely near Christmas to echo the blockbuster releases of The Lord of the Rings films, with the second film scheduled for a year later. It is still unclear how the Hobbit novel will be expanded into two films, though we assume part of the expansion will involve the meetings of the White Council, the eviction of the Necromancer from Dol Gulder, and other contemporary events described fully only in later books. The retention of Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett, and other Lord of the Rings principals active during the Hobbit timeline (approximately 75 years prior to the War of the Ring, at least in the books) will thus be a high priority for Jackson and del Toro.

The hiring comes six weeks after Jackson and New Line Cinemas resolved their bitter royalties dispute over Lord of the Rings revenues, unblocking Jackson's participation in the Hobbit project. The Hobbit (first published in 1937) is the original tale of Middle Earth that spawned the three-volume sequel,The Lord of the Rings. In classic Hollywood fashion, of course, the films are ending up the other way around.