No Jackson for The Hobbit

I'm sure I'm not alone in loving the Lord Of The Ring movies, they were simply amazing. For years now there has been ongoing speculation about a movie version of The Hobbit (the prequel to the Load Of The Rings), with the main question being, "When will it be made?". Almost everyone had assumed that Peter Jackson would continue the work he did with Lord Of The Rings and get his go at making The Hobbit, sadly it is looking like this will not be the case - the film is going into production, but without Peter Jackson.

With Peter Jackson engaged in legal action with New Line Cinema over unpaid royalties, they seem to have given him the ultimatum of drop the law suit, or don't direct the Hobbit.

This obviously has annoyed a lot of people, with so many fans wanting to see the Hobbit done by Peter Jackson so that continuity in the style and tone can be carried over, but if Jackson is not involved, then neither will his special effects company Weta, so the new production team will have to start from scratch - which is unlikely to provide the same look and feel as people are wanting.

While I think it doesn't give the Hobbit much chance of living up the Lord of the Rings, others feel a little more agrieved. Sir Ian McKellen has voiced support for Jackson to make the film, and it is sound like if Jackson is not involved, neither will any of the original cast. As a result, fansite TheOneRing.net has started a 'Boycott New Line' petition.

However, do not lose all hope yet, some reports are surfacing that the ultimate rights owner of the Hobbit/LOTR series, Saul Zaentz, wants Peter Jackson on board. Rumours have also surfaced that Evil Dead/Spiderman director, Sam Raimi, has been offered the job, so maybe all is not lost yet!