Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro Writing Hobbit Themselves

Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro have officially announced that they're writing The Hobbit and its follow-up themselves. I never thought so much buzz could come from an announcement about writing, but that's what happens when it's The Hobbit! The news first hit on TheOneRing.net, where Guillermo confirmed that writing had begun on Hobbit. Additionally, reports from Hollywood Reporter confirmed the news and added that they originally had been searching for a writer to tackle the monumental task, but decided that there was no one better suited for the job than they are. Joining the two will be Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, who wrote the screenplays for the first three Lord of the Rings with Jackson.

When the announcement about The Hobbit was first made last year, Peter Jackson had said that he would not be writing any of the Hobbit movies due to other commitments. However, three factors caused them to reconsider and in the end decide to write the films on their own. 1) The filmmakers saw their schedules open up, 2) During the general discussions about the films, they realized how much affection they had for the material, and 3) They also realized that in order to make the release dates, the process required people intimate with Tolkien's world of Middle Earth. Thus they decided to team up again with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens to write the scripts themselves, which is definitely a good move.

There's not a single thing to be worried about here, given it was Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens who wrote the screenplays for all three Lord of the Rings. And Guillermo is an accomplished writer as well, so if anything, this is reassuring that they decided not to risk letting someone else mess up the adaptation instead. Both Hobbit films will still be shot simultaneously, with filming tentatively set to start in late 2009. The first film is expected to arrive sometime in 2011, so get ready for one hell of a triumphant return. Although I was really let down by Guillermo del Toro on Hellboy II, I'm still confident that he's the right choice for The Hobbit and I'm already anticipating the return of one of my favorite stories.