Jackson to co-write HOBBIT w/ DelToro

[Bill The Pony]

From the Guardian Unlimited:

He may have handed over the director's reigns for The Hobbit to Guillermo Del Toro, but it seems Peter Jackson can't quite bring himself to leave the fantasy world of JRR Tolkien alone. It was announced today that Jackson is to co-write the screenplay with Del Toro for the two films which are being adapted from the Lord of the Rings prequel.

Jackson, who directed the phenomenally successful Rings triptych, had originally been on board The Hobbit only as executive producer, with Del Toro hired to take charge of the two new films. But following an eight-month search for a suitable scribe, the pair came to the conclusion that there was no better candidate to take on the challenge than themselves. Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, who worked with Jackson on the Rings series, will also be involved in the prequels.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the decision was also fuelled by the fact that Jackson and Del Toro have both seen their schedules open up over the last couple of months. Their search for a writer also reminded them of their own affection for The Hobbit, and they realised that only someone heavily immersed in the world of the author would be capable of meeting the deadline of a late 2009 start-date for the productions.

The Hobbit was written before The Lord of the Rings, and centres on the halfling Bilbo Baggins, who sets off on a quest to kill a dragon along with a wizard, Gandalf, and a company of dwarves. At one point the project looked unlikely to ever be made following a legal wrangle over profits from the Rings trilogy between Peter Jackson and studio New Line. That issue was resolved last year.

The fact that two films are being made relating to The Hobbit may now prove the only stumbling block left in the path of the Mexican-Kiwi creative team. Tolkien only wrote one book, which Jackson has said will form the basis of one of the movies. That means he and Del Toro face the challenging task of adapting the author's thinly-sketched writings about the period between the end of The Hobbit and the start of The Lord of the Rings into a standalone sequel. The two films will be shot simultaneously, and should arrive in cinemas in 2011 and 2012.

[VixenDarkfairy]

I am so happy and relieved that Peter will help write. The plot of Hellboy 2 was thin and formulaic. Now I have confidence that these films will be great.