Well, It seems that Middle Earth has lost it’s director. Guillermo Del Toro has announced that he is no longer directing the two movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. He will continue to co-write the screenplays. Out of respect for the millions of fans, Del Toro broke the news online…
“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”, says Guillermo. “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. I remain grateful to Peter, Fran and Philippa Boyens, New Line and Warner Brothers and to all my crew in new Zealand. I’ve been privileged to work in one of the greatest countries on earth with some of the best people ever in our craft and my life will be forever changed. The blessings have been plenty, but the mounting pressures of conflicting schedules have overwhelmed the time slot originally allocated for the project. Both as a co-writer and as a director, I wish the production nothing but the very best of luck and will be first in line to see the finished product. I remain an ally to it and its makers, present and future, and fully support a smooth transition to a new director”.
This is not good for the franchise. Del Toro was going to nail these pictures. He has great vision for these kind of films. And with Jackson lending a hand on the side, it was going to be awesome. I have no idea who can direct these films; ok, maybe some. But, I have lost some hope…I already had Del Toro and Jackson delivering awesomeness! Oh, well…now what?
It seems Del Toro was just somewhat annoyed at the studio’s ongoing delays. For a while now, there have been various postponements. I totally get this. But then Jackson comes around and basically states that the bottom line is that Del Toro just didn’t feel he could commit six years to living in New Zealand, exclusively making these films, when his original commitment was for three years.
Regardless of the drama…The Hobbit is planned as two motion pictures, scheduled for releases in December 2012 and December 2013.
What do you guys make of this? Is this good or bad for the franchise? Who should get the directing nod now?
