Ok, file this one under “Probably not true at all”. But this morning the internet is all abuzz with this one. Apparently New Line has approached Spider-Man and Evil Dead director Sam Raimi to possibly step in and direct The Hobbit and the 2nd Lord of the Rings Prequel. This has, at least for the moment, stopped a lot of the short sighted bitching and moaning about Peter Jackson not returning for The Hobbit (Something that is every bit as much Jackson’s fault as it is New Line’s… make no mistake, they’re both to blame here, but blinded Jackson followers refuse to see any fault with their god).
I’ll repeat myself here. Would I like to see Jackson back to direct The Hobbit? HELL YES! He did a great job with LOTR (Remember, I called Return of the King the single greatest achievement in film history, and I stand by that), but to say ANY one director MUST direct a certain film is silly, naive and short sighted.
When they announced they were going to make The Lord of the Rings in the first place… no one said “Peter Jackson MUST direct them”. No one. But he did them and it turned out great. Another gifted director could just as ealisy (or not so easlily) step in and do just as well… or even better than Jackson (or almost as good). And let’s remember… The Hobbit is a different feel of a story than LOTR… another director could actually be a good idea.
Now back to Raimi.
If this rumor was true (and I don’t personally think it is) I’d like the idea. Raimi is a diverse director who can manage multiple styles. Army of Darkness and Spider-Man are TOTALLY different films, and he manages both genres well. For him to bring his creative mind to The Hobbit would be great, a fresh vision for Middle Earth and the new feel of The Hobbit.
So forget Peter Jackson for a moment… ok… just for a minute. If this rumor was true, what would you think of a Sam Raimi directing The Hobbit?
