Or no Hobbits at all...

[Sauron the White]

from VARIETY the show business newspaper reporting on the various implications of the NL folding and Shaye departure.

Variety’s article :

‘Warner Bros. gobbles up New Line’: “The Hobbit” has Guillermo Del Toro in talks to direct, and the picture will be unaffected by the ouster of Shaye and Lynne. Though the films won’t be scripted until a director is hired, and Jackson wraps “The Lovely Bones,” the expectation is that the films will be ready for release for Christmas 2011 and 2012. Harry Potter will have wound down at WB by then, and the corporation will surely welcome another fantasy franchise that has an eager global audience waiting. New Line will distribute domestically, while MGM has international rights.

The official HOBBIT movie site and discussion board has been carrying the official announcement since back in December stating that the two films would be released in 2010 and 2011. This article seems to postpone that by a full year although no months were given in either release cycle. You would have to suspect they would want to keep to the December releases since they had proven success with that.

Would this extra year be to a) work out a deal with the Estate before proceeding any further, or/ and b) get Jackson on board in a larger capacity even if it he will not direct - at least the first pic?