The Hollywood Reporter is, well, reporting that Guillermo Del Toro is now officially in talks to direct both The Hobbit and its sequel. This. Is. Awesome. Their story doesn't really hold any concrete facts or give us any new information on the film, but it's very encouraging to hear that Del Toro is at the very least on the shortlist of directors who might handle the prequels to Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. Del Toro already has a lot of films on his plate, so he'd have to clean house a little if he took this on. Principal photography is set to start in 2009. Del Toro is currently finishing off Hellboy 2 and then had plans to make a new version of Frankenstein, a long-planned adaptation of HP Lovecraft's At The Mountain's Of Madness and ghost story 3993. He'd also expressed some interest in directing the final Harry Potter movie. But when we spoke to the series producer David Heyman recently he said that Del Toro was sadly not really in the running because "he's rather busy", despite Del Toro telling Heyman that he'd like to make the movie because "I want to kill your children". We guess you can't have everything. We gladly sacrifice all of those other projects to see Del Toro's take on The Hobbit.

Olly Richards

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Your Comments

Hmmm
I am a LOTRO fan, thru and thru.. Haven't seen any of Del Toro's work. Can't make an educated comment, about his abilities to do The Hobbit project. Still, I want the best Director for the epic. Peter Jackson is the best. I loved Peter's work on King Kong, as well. Peter, if you see this, please find a way to put your next two projects on hold, to do The Hobbit. True justice would not be done to The Hobbit, without you. ... Read More Joanwyn About me
22:36, 16 February 2008 | Report This Post
GREAT NEWS EVERYONE!!!!
Aside from Peter Jackson himself, I can't imagine a better director to take on The Hobbit. Guess that means he won't be directing The Deathly Hallows as some have suggested. ... Read More boredbluekoala About me
22:23, 29 January 2008 | Report This Post
Sounds good
I think Del Toro would do a good job with this. One question about the article though, "...The Hobbit and it's sequel"?? Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the sequel to The Hobbitt The Lord of the Rings? I'm pretty sure they've been filmed already.... ... Read More hypercc About me
21:19, 29 January 2008 | Report This Post
confirmed
a friend of mine went to the paris premiere of "the orphanage", del toro was present and confirmed that he was going to direct the hobbit. ... Read More lady_stardust About me
16:48, 29 January 2008 | Report This Post
RE:
Suprising news here. This is one of those films where you don't have a clue how it will turn out. My guess is that it will be both Jacksons style in together with Del Toro's style with Tolkeins story and  a 5 star status. You just know it's going to be awesome. The only problem is it's not confirmed! It would be a nice change, and a nice take on the novel. Fingers crossed guys! ... Read More Movieman Tom About me
07:42, 29 January 2008 | Report This Post
As Jackson will be not be directing, this sounds like a logical move. G. Del Toro has proved himself in the genre. I am just glad they didnt give it to Brett Ratner or someone of that ilk. Wouldn't have been the first time. Surely there is something better for Jackson to be involved with than Tintin. I simply have no anticipation at all for that project. ... Read More Deacon Frost About me
23:33, 28 January 2008 | Report This Post
Bored Of The Rings. Bring on the madness.
as a child i loved J.R.R. Tolkiens LORD OF THE RINGS books and its prequel THE HOBBIT. The films came out and i was as excited about them as everyone else was. in retrospect im bored of it. Guillermo Del Toro is one of the last cult directors to still tread the borderline between cult and mainstream. i think he should scrap everything and get on with H.P.Lovecrafts AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS. after all most of del toro's movies have a tinge of a lovecraftian vibe (Hellboy, Cronos). and to be ... Read More Horrorguru About me
21:25, 28 January 2008 | Report This Post
Tired. Of. This.
Three single sentence words. Eg. "Best. Bond. Ever." Man I'm no longer down with the kidz. I hate it. I. Hate. It. Or pre-amble that leads to a set-up with "hell," For example, "The Beard has three wildly different films in production in 2008. Hell, Spielberg's a one man movie studio." ... Read More keyzersaulsie About me
20:43, 28 January 2008 | Report This Post
RE: Y'know what...
L: britesparc ...I'd rather see him do Harry Potter. Controversial, I know, but given that The Hobbit has to look like LOTR - like the world Jackson's already created - part of me feels a massive creative force like Del Toro would be a bit hamstrung. I'd rather that gig went to a director who hadn't really had a "big break" yet; maybe like a Raimi pre-Spidey. Potter, on the other hand, has shown that it benefits strongly from a distinctive vision and a strong directorial hand; the best on... Read More Najemikon About me
20:10, 28 January 2008 | Report This Post
oh man! i cant wait for this, really! ... Read More Nalfeshnee About me
19:40, 28 January 2008 | Report This Post
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