Who should direct "The Hobbit"?

[zxcvbn]

I'm sceptical of Sam Raimi because his previous example in the fantasy genre was Xena Warrior Princess. I would say that the best person to direct the Hobbit so as to tie it in with the LOTR film trilogy would be Peter Jackson himself. Can't he tell Spielberg to direct the first Tintin film so that he'll be free?

[Thenamir]

There is an unconfirmed report on marketsaw.com that PJ may do exactly that - pass on the first two Tintin films to direct the third, which will leave him barely-adequate time to direct The Hobbit.

And as I voted for Sam Raimi but never defended my vote, I will do so now. First, Sam Raimi has indicated intense interest in the project - it wouldn't be "just another movie" to him, as it was not for PJ. Second, he has simultaneously professed respect for the existing work of Peter Jackson on the LOTR movies, and not keen to make radical changes in the style. Third, while the Spider-Man movies are not Fantasy per se, they do involve filming fantastic elements and making them look real. Raimi's work can be credited with virtually singlehandedly reviving comic-books (ahem, graphic-novels) as viable movie franchises.

So what if his last fantsy work was Xena? His work since then has been sterling, and I think he'd be a great choice.

[Kitanna]

Guillermo del Toro is another consideration if Raimi can't commit to The Hobbit. The look and feel of Pan's Labyrinth was really breathtaking. Perhaps del Toro could do the same from The Hobbit.

[Thenamir]

Personally, if Sam Raimi can't do the film (and PJ isn't going to rearrange his schedule), I agree that Del Toro would be another excellent choice.

[Galendor]

Originally Posted by Kitanna

Guillermo del Toro is another consideration if Raimi can't commit to The Hobbit. The look and feel of Pan's Labyrinth was really breathtaking. Perhaps del Toro could do the same from The Hobbit.

According to the link provided by Kitanna, here's a quote from del Toro about The Hobbit:

“I’ve heard some rumblings, but nothing official. I don’t want to think about it because it’s such an eventuality,” Guillermo del Toro told EW. “It’s the only Tolkien book I read. I tried my best to read the Lord of the Rings, the trilogy. I could not. I could not. They were very dense. And then one day, I bought The Hobbit. I read it and I loved it. So it would be a privilege. But listen, I wish I knew.”

Based on this, I may want to change my vote away from del Toro. Shouldn't being able to read (and appreciate) LOTR be a prerequisite for directing The Hobbit? Of course, I wouldn't be surprised if Raimi, Burton, and others haven't even read LOTR either.