HOME TRAILERS RELEASE DATES PODCAST REVIEWS POSTERS INTERVIEWS MOVIE NEWS ABOUT US APPS FSnetwork

LATEST NEWS

It's Official - Guillermo del Toro Directing The Hobbit!

by Alex Billington
April 24, 2008
Source: Variety

Guillermo promised us an official announcement this week - and now here it is. Late Thursday afternoon it was 100% confirmed - the soon-to-be legendary director Guillermo del Toro is officially attached to direct The Hobbit. Variety confirms the announcement today from executive producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, New Line president Toby Emmerich, and MGM president Mary Parent. Guillermo will move to New Zealand for the next four years to work with Jackson and WETA in order to produce the new two Hobbit films back-to-back - which will be released in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

This is definitely a glorious day in the world of Middle Earth! Production is now moving forward and all contracts have been signed to finally start work on The Hobbit. Warner Brothers will be distributing the film in the US and MGM will be distributing it internationally. As was announced previously, the first film will be an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's entire book, and the second will be a newly imagined story focusing on the 60-year period between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.

Guillermo del Toro directing The Hobbit The Hobbit is set in a time "between the dawn of Faerie and the Dominion of Men," and follows the quest of home-loving Bilbo Baggins to win his share of the treasure guarded by the dragon, Smaug. His journey takes him from light-hearted, rural surroundings and into darker, deeper territory, meeting various denizens of the Wilderland along the way. By accepting the disreputable, romantic, fey and adventurous side of his nature and utilizing both his wits and common sense during the quest, Bilbo develops a new level of maturity, competence and wisdom. Synopsis courtesy of Wikipedia.

Now that it's been officially confirmed, it sounds like Guillermo won't be doing At the Mountains of Madness for a very long time and won't be doing Hellboy III at least until he finishes both Hobbit movies in 2011. I'd say this is a very promising future for del Toro and I can't wait to see his interpretation of the beloved Tolkien universe. Now I'm even more excited for Hellboy II: The Golden Army this summer. What are your thoughts on Guillermo del Toro officially directing The Hobbit? Is he the next best replacement for Peter Jackson?

Pin It

Related categories: Discussion, Hype, Movie News

Scorpio

Awesome, can't wait.
silver

maybe hollywood will redeem itself? nah. but this is kick ass news alex
Richard

YES - but newly imagined? Hmmm.
Curtis

kick ass Del Toro is the next best director to replace Peter Jackson and im really looking forward to see Del Toro's new take on Middle Earth..
Scott

Newly imagined? Oh god no.
bltzie

meh =(
Tyler

LOTR films are in my opinion the most flawlessly made films in the past couple decades and the best trilogy to date. That said, I love everything del toro has done, and made blade far better than the already great original, so I am very excited to get a new take on middle earth and Jackson's influence will obviously be a big part of the production so I imagine the visual continuity will remain. This is some of the best news in a while.
Spider

Awesome news! Gillermo del Toro is the man! Just like I've pointed out before--only a handful of people in Hollywood are genuinely talented and Guillermo is one of them. Viva Mexico!
http://www.tracksounds.com Christopher

Better than Sam Raimi, that's for sure. Even though I maintain that PAN'S LABYRINTH was very much overrated...HELLBOY 2 looks promising. Hopefully, THE HOBBIT maintains PJs aesthetics and not go totally Del Toro. Just make the friggin' things already.
harrison

there is no replacement for peter jackson, i just hope he doesnt screw it up am i the only person who thinks del toro is nothing special? i havnt seen anything great from him(given i havnt watched pans labyrinth yet), blade 2 was crap like the rest of the series and now snipes is going to jail for those movies(not really but its a better reason to send him than for not paying his taxes), hellboy was good but not great, had its moments but im lookin forward to hellboy 2 as much as the next guy because shit gets blown up and smacked around and thats what everyone wants in a movie. and mimic sucked and thats pretty much all hes done. i just dont see all the hype around him
http://www.andreascliment.com Andreas Climent

harrison, you have to see Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone. Del Toro is a pretty solid director. That said, the best choice would obviously have been Peter Jackson, but since he won't direct them I feel Guillermo is the second best choice. As long as Jackson, Walsh and Boyens are very much involved in the script and tone of the movies the result could be pretty awesome.
Chris

Awesome news! Have we any idea as to what / if any of the original cast will be involved? If i remember rightly Ian McKellen will play a part again?
john

Should be good. I like Del Torro's visual style a lot. I hope he is going to do HP Lovecrafts At the Mountains of Madness as well. He's gonna be a busy guy.
http://rioranchofilmreviews.blogspot.com/ Ricky Roma

Soon to be legendary? You don't indulge in much hyperbole, do you?
http://movieguyreviews4u.blogspot.com Ryan

the newly imagined has me thinking this and Pan's Lab crossing, uh-oh. I like his far-out things but in LOTR...
Mayra

And let's not forget Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban...which thanks to Del Toro is my favorite HP movie yet. and to Spider...Viva Mexico indeed!
Nunya

@harrison - I agree with almost everything you said except I liked Hellboy a little more than you, and you MUST see Pan's Labyrinth. I loved that movie.
Rarc

I think with Del Toro as director -and with Peter Jackson as producer- "The Hobbit" can get to be as epic as the original LOTR trilogy, but not so sure about the second (invented) movie... Guillermo is a great fantasy film director. Pan's Labyrinth is a must watch. I didn't like his past Hollywood productions much, but "Hobbit" is more the type of fantasy his good at, and I'm sure the creatures and the FX, CGI or not, will be great too, as this is the area at which he excels... P.S.: By the way, Prisioner of Askaban was directed by Alfonso Cuarón, not Del Toro. Any way, they are both from Mexico and they are both great directors.
Obsedian

Del Toro is one of my favorite directors. Pan's Labyrinth took my breath away form the first scene to the end credits. I was in awe of his vision. His ability to bring fantasy to life will undoubtedly make the Hobbit movies incredible as well. Even if they are vastly different from Jackson's work on the LOTR trilogy, but it will, I think, prove to be a great succes.