According to the New York Times, director Guillermo del Toro has stepped back from the director’s chair for the highly anticipated prequel to Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and will not guide J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit”.
The famed genre director (“Hellboy,” “Pan’s Labyrinth”) told the Times that his reason for turning his back on the project had more to do with the studio’s (New Line and MGM) continued uncertainty for both a shoot start date and a release date. Most of this cloud hanging over the picture may be due to the fact that MGM is hurting financially and has placed itself on the sale block.
His official statement said, “In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming ‘The Hobbit,’ I am faced with the hardest decision of my life. After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien’s Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures.”
While del Toro will no longer command from the center seat he has decided to remain on the project as the film’s screenwriter.
Peter Jackson continues as the film’s executive producer and one is left to wonder if he will now be forced into the very chair he didn’t want in the first place. Jackson indicated he is ruling that out and will meet with studio execs shortly to discuss the plans for a new director search.
Stay tuned to Slice of SciFi for updates.
Why bother looking for a new director for a picture they can't afford to make? They had the director.
Definitely not a good sign.
Uh-oh. Definitely not good. Will this movie ever happen?
Well,I'm officially over The Hobbit and will just enjoy my LOTRs extended cuts. Thanks and good night.