Well King Dick your worst nightmare has been realised it seems.
Peter Jackson has been confirmed as director of The Hobbit. I personally like that idea.
The bit I don't like... it will be shot in 3D.
There's been a lot of talk surrounding The Hobbit recently, most of it simply rumors and speculation, but today it seems we have some official information as Deadline reports Peter Jackson will be directing both the first installment of The Hobbit as well as the subsequent untitled sequel. Jackson was first rumored to be in talks to direct the two films back in June following Guillermo del Toro's departure from the director's chair the month prior.
Deadline's Mike Fleming adds that Warner Bros and MGM have set a December 2012 and December 2013 release pattern for the two films, replicating the release pattern of the original Lord of the Rings features with production expected to begin in January 2011. Even more importantly, all the rumblings concerning the two Hobbit films being shot in 3D were recently confirmed by the New York Times. The two-picture shoot is expected to cost around $500 million.
Fleming speculates as to whether or not the decision to shoot The Hobbit in 3D will inspire Warner Bros. to return to the Lord of the Rings trilogy and, in line with the recent announcement the Star Wars films will undergo lengthy 2D-to-3D conversions, convert the original Rings films as well.
Of course, all of this is news because MGM is down in the dumps and can't even afford to release their own movies (Red Dawn, Cabin in the Woods) let alone make new ones. As a result, Fleming says Warner Bros. may end up having to fund the entire Hobbit project unless a third party steps in. Fleming also says it looks like MGM may be stripped down to the point the James Bond franchise will be up for grabs with Warner Bros, Fox and Sony Pictures eying 007, but Fleming adds he hears "Paramount stands a good chance" as well.
For now, it would seem the next three months will be filled with Hobbit casting news and rumors if production is really expected to begin in January. That, however, brings up the recent dust up concerning actors' unions getting in a huff and urging members not to work on The Hobbit, citing the production as a "non-union" show. Peter Jackson, himself, issued a lengthy retort of which I have such little interest I can't even be compelled to begin reading.
As far as casting goes, Ian McKellen is expected to return as Gandalf and Martin Freeman has been rumored in the past as the first choice to play Bilbo Baggins. The film is based on J. R. R. Tolkien's novel "The Hobbit; or There and Back Again" and will tell the story of tiny, furry-footed Bilbo and his adventures in Middle-earth, which ultimately served as the prelude to Tolkien's epic "The Lord of the Rings", which was published in three volumes during the 1950s. These novels are perhaps the most beloved works of fantasy in the twentieth century.
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/peter-jackson-confirmed-as-hobbit-director-and-film-will-be-shot-in-3d