Rumors Confirmed, del Toro to Direct ‘Hobbit’

Guillermo del Toro may belong to the team of Mexican directors (the ‘cha cha cha‘ trio along with Alejandro González Iñárritu and Alfonso Cuarón who have made quite a name for themselves in the past decade or so, but del Toro didn’t opt for the indie route like the rest of them. With his 1993 calling card Cronos bringing him to the forefront, the proclaimed director chose to direct horror/thriller/sci-fi flicks like Blade II and Hellboy that had very little to do with his latin roots. Del Toro is most well-known for the highly acclaimed, 2006 Oscar-winning, fascist Spain fantasy flick, Pan’s Labyrinth. The pic made history as the highest grossing Spanish language film in U.S. box office history. Chances are, del Toro could be breaking another box office record with his two most recently signed projects.

The director will soon be able to add Part I and Part II of The Hobbit to his filmmaking repertoire. According to Variety, it was announced by exec producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, Toby Emmerich (president of New Line) and Mary Parent (chief MGM’s Worldwide Motion Picture Group) that del Toro will be directing the two highly anticipated, Tolkien-penned classics. The announcement has been highly speculated in recent months, however Sam Raimi was originally rumored as the front-runner to helm the pics. Del Toro will be moving his life to New Zealand for four years, where Middle Earth will once more come to life, as the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy facilities will be used for both films. The pics are set in the 60-year period before the first of the blockbuster trilogy The Lord of the Rings, during which our petite hero, Bilbo Baggins, snatches the Ring of Power of “my precioussss” monstrosity, Gollum.

Shooting is likely to begin next year, with release dates set at late 2011 and 2012. Both pics will be produced by New Line Cinema and MGM. Domestic distribution will be handled by Warner Bros., with international distribution by MGM.

Del Toro is currently in post-production for Hellboy 2: The Golden
Army, to be released in July. The director will also be returning to the Spanish Civil War for the fantasy/horror pic 3993, to be released in Spain in 2009.