Could it be? TheOneRing.net is reporting that Spiderman director Sam Raimi has been given an offer from New Line Cinema to sit in the big chair for the two upcoming Hobbit films scheduled from them and MGM Pictures.
If the rumor of a Spidey 4 is true, then where will Sam find the time to do two films the size and scope of “The Hobbit?”.
Of course there are two other very pressing questions that need to be asked. If Sam Raimi does do “The Hobbit” will fans of the franchise ever accept his entry and more importantly… where will he fit in a cameo of Bruce Campbell in Middle Earth?
We find it hard to believe that any director, at least while Jackson is on the planet, would ever consider trying to fill that void after his overwhelming success of the LOTR. But, that being said, it will take the minimum of someone of Sam’s stature and ability to do it or The Hobbit will be a gigantic flop-sweat of a movie. The pressure is on and the odds are still in favor of Jackson coming back to helm this project.
From IMDB
As Lord of the Rings fans mounted a protest following word that New Line had dropped Peter Jackson from consideration as director of The Hobbit and another Lord of the Rings prequel, producer Saul Zaentz has given assurances that Jackson will indeed direct the two films. A German website, Elbenwald.de, posted an interview with Zaentz, who acquired the rights to the works of the late Rings writer, J.R.R. Tolkien, in 1976 (the Saul Zaentz Company owns Tolkien Enterprises), in which Zaentz says, “It will definitely be shot by Peter Jackson. … Next year The Hobbit rights will fall back to my company. I suppose that Peter will wait because he knows that he will make the best deal with us. And he is fed up with the studios: to get his profit share on the Rings trilogy he had to sue New Line. With us, in contrast, he knows that he will be paid fairly and artistically supported without reservation.” (The preceding quotation is a translation that appeared on TheHobbit-Movie.com from the German interview posted on Elbenwald.de.)