Guillermo Del Toro On 'The Hobbit'

A number of rumors recently emerged regarding the big-screen adaptation of Tolkien's "The Hobbit," to be directed by Guillermo del Toro and produced by Peter Jackson.

The film was at one time going to be followed by a 'bridge movie' to fill in the undocumented years between the end of "The Hobbit" and the first film in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

But then it was decided to abandon the bridge film and instead split "The Hobbit" into two movies.

However, MarketSaw then heard from a source that the project would be filmed in 3-D and that there would be three movies - the two-part "Hobbit" PLUS the bridge film. Furthermore, this third segment would be directed by Peter Jackson.

There's also been talk online that Tom Cruise, "Doctor Who" actor David Tennant or "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe would play the lead role of Bilbo Baggins.

Guillermo del Toro spoke to TheOneRing.net and said: "As a co-writer and director of this film (who works with the design teams, costume teams, creature teams, VFX teams every day of the week), let me be very clear one more time: we are not talking about 3-D, we are NOT writing the screenplay for 3-D right now.

"We are hiring my Director of Photography Guillermo Navarro to shoot the film and we are not discussing 3-D with him either or with WETA digital or WB or anyone else.

"That should be a little less sidestepping, I hope. If after -Avatar- the market may change and demands are put upon us, etc that is in the future. But make no mistake, I've been living in NZ for almost a year now and we have not been discussing 3-D."

He added: "And no - neither David Tennant nor Tom Cruise are Bilbo and we are not redesigning Gollum."
So what about Daniel Radcliffe? The actor himself spoke to The L.A. Times, saying: "I'd have to say, 'Thanks but no thanks,' not that anyone has asked me.

"Honestly, I don't think they would want me anyway, it's just too close. Whatever I do next, I don't think there will be any wizards in it!"

And on the subject of three films, including that bridge movie, Latino Review asked del Toro and he replied: "All speculation, really and some of it quite wild and inventive."

It’s interesting to note that Guillermo Navarro is going to be the Director of Photography for "The Hobbit," which will give it a bit of a different look and feel to the "LOTR" trilogy (which had Andrew Lesnie as the Cinematographer). Navarro has worked with del Toro since the start of his feature-length filmmaking career with "Cronos," and has worked on other such projects as "Jackie Brown," "Desperado," "From Dusk Till Dawn" and "Spawn."

The script for "The Hobbit" Parts 1 and 2 is still being worked on, and we’re a long way away from the actual release, so the amount of rumors and speculation is not only understandable but inevitable. Until we get a bit closer to the finished product, we can expect even more of these rumors, and it’s nice to see the director taking time out of his hectic schedule to keep us informed.

Part 1 of "The Hobbit" is scheduled to hit theaters in December, 2011, with Part 2 following a year later in December, 2012.

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Screen Rant, The Geek Files