With all of the squabbling and hissy fits Peter Jackson and New Line are throwing against each other, it’s easy to forget about The Hobbit movie project itself. Well, New Line chairman Robert Shaye has come out and reafirmed his intention not only film The Hobbit without Peter Jackson, but that he’s already got a timetable in mind and it aiming to have Bilbo leave the Shire with his new Dwarf buddies in 2009.
The good folks over at Movieweb give us this:
He mentioned the studio will shoot for a 2009 release for the prequel to The Lord Of The Rings. And possibly Sam Raimi will be taking over the reigns, notes the article. And he would not comment on reports in the news media that the Spider-Man director Sam Raimi had been asked to direct The Hobbit. He said, however, that although there was no workable script yet for the film, he intended to release it in 2009.
I know I’ve said it a hundred times, but I’ll say it again here. In a perfect world I’d like to see Peter Jackson direct The Hobbit. BUT, Peter Jackson is not the best director in the world (as King Kong proved), and even though he did a MASTERFUL job with the rings films, there’s nothing saying another director may not do just as well, or even better with The Hobbit. So, I’m more than open to a new director.
Sam Raimi??? Well that is a name that’s been thrown around a lot the last couple of months… and honestly I think I CAN see it happening. It’s no secret Sam is wanting to leave the Spider-Man franchise… and something like The Hobbit could be an opportunity to really show his stuff. I’d be fine with Raimi taking over. But he’s not the only guy either.
Personally… the guy I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to see take a shot at The Hobbit is Frank Darabont!!! So aside from Jackson, who would you like to see pick up The Hobbit?
