‘Hellboy’ Director May Take Helm Of ‘Hobbit’
Guillermo de Toro, the creative force behind the fantasy films “Hellboy” and “Pan’s Labyrinth,” is negotiations to direct the “Lord of the Rings” prequel films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The news comes just after a month after “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy’s Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson had settled litigation with studio New Line Cinema that prevented the project from moving forward.
Jackson and partner Fran Walsh will be the executive producer of the “The Hobbit” and a planned sequel, which will be co-financed by New Line and MGM.
Previous commitments to directing “The Lovely Bones” precluded Jackson from taking the director’s chair for “The Hobbit” films, the Reporter said, and no writer has been named to the project because of the Hollywood writers’ strike.
The Reporter said that the script will be fast-tracked once the strike is resolved.
The first “Hobbit” film is currently slated for a 2010 release, with the sequel to follow in 2011.
Del Toro recently produced the Spanish thriller “The Orphanage,” and is currently finishing up the “Hellboy” sequel “Hellboy: The Golden Army.”
Previous Stories:
- December 18, 2007: Jackson, New Line Settle; ‘Hobbit’ Moves Forward