Tolkien fans will have to wait a long time for “The Hobbit” to become a reality. The prequel to “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy has hit a massive bump in the road. Director Guillermo del Toro quit the production after being frustrated by continuing delays.
He said that it was one of the hardest decisions of his life, as he had spent almost two years working on the project. However del Toro will still be involved with the movie as a co-writer for the screenplays. He will fulfill this role along with Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. Jackson is function as joint executive producer alongside his wife Fran. He managed to seal a deal with regards to the movie in 2007, after which he got del Toro on board.
The main reason for delays has been the situation at MGM. Reports of near bankruptcy have been hounding the studio since late last year and this has prevented any solid work on “The Hobbit” from going ahead. Contrary to popular belief, the movie has not been green lighted and the 2012 date touted by fans is quite unlikely to happen.
The movie required a long term commitment from the Director, and del Toro had been ready for the long haul. He had agreed to spend three years in New Zealand to bring the two part movie to life. Unfortunately with the delays that period had to be extend to six, which del Toro could understandably not commit to. Jackson is confident that this will not affect the production too much, as the movie is still in the early stages and does not even have a go-ahead from the studio.