Guillermo Del Toro Leaves The Hobbit

Published on May 31st, 2010
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Written by Lee Loechler
LeeLoechler@TheCinemaSource.com

After spending the last two years working with Peter Jackson and New Zealand’s Weta Studios on pre-production, Guillermo Del Toro has officially left the films’ director’s chair. In a release through fansite theonering.net, Del Toro explained his reasoning:

In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming The Hobbit, I am faced with the hardest decision of my life. After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien’s Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures. I remain grateful to Peter, Fran and Philippa Boyens, New Line and Warner Brothers and to all my crew in New Zealand. I’ve been privileged to work in one of the greatest countries on earth with some of the best people ever in our craft and my life will be forever changed. The blessings have been plenty, but the mounting pressures of conflicting schedules have overwhelmed the time slot originally allocated for the project. Both as a co-writer and as a director, I wish the production nothing but the very best of luck and I will be first in line to see the finished product. I remain an ally to it and its makers, present and future, and fully support a smooth transition to a new director.

As one of the most original and creative minds in the industry, it’s very sad to hear of Del Toro’s departure from the project. But with any luck, his two years of pre-production will allow any future directors to follow in his footsteps, adding their own vision to Mr. Del Toro’s.

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