Guillermo del Toro will direct the Hobbit, with Peter Jackson producing. I guess it sort of makes sense... I mean, the bad guys in Hellboy 2 look pretty much like elves, and del Toro hit a home run with Pan's Labyrinth.
But check this from the link above:
"Del Toro will helm the two films back to back, telling the story of "The Hobbit," and its sequel, which will deal with the 60-year period between "The Hobbit" and "The Fellowship of the Ring," the first of the "Rings" trilogy."
This is the first I've heard of this. I had assumed when I heard the Hobbit was going to be 2 movies that they were going to split it somewhere in the middle (when Bilbo finds the ring?) to make two 3 hr + movies and make twice as much money. But this sounds like they are going to cobble together an entirely new movie together from Tolkein's notes and appendices. I'm not sure how I feel about that.
I suppose I'm inclined to trust the Jackson/Walsh/Boyens trio given their track record on the LoTR trilogy. On the whole, they made more good calls than bad ones, but they still did make bad ones (elves at Helm's Deep wtf?); and they came perilously close to making a few terrible ones (Aragorn sword-dueling with Sauron, Arwen at Helm's Deep, etc.). And without the spine of an actual novel to guide them this time, I think there are tremendous pitfalls to this 'second film' project. They will surely step into a few of them.
Anyway, John, the switch from Jackson to del Toro might mean less creepy spiders and bugs. The flip-side is that all the other creatures will be very very creepy, and possibly eyeless... with big pointy claws and cavernous yawning mouths.
