So now its official I can stop wondering who will be directing and start worrying if Del Toro will be able to do The Hobbit movies justice?
Lets remember that by the time the first Hobbit movie is released it could well be the most eagerly awaited movie ever made.
At first look he seems the perfect choice to replace Peter Jackson at the helm. They both love the fantasy genre and both have similar backgrounds but the facts are that Del Toro to date has done 2 big budget movies in Blade 2 and Hellboy and neither could be classed a major success.
Sam Raimi has a couple of blockbusters under his belt and must surely have been the choice of the money men but the cost of getting Jackson back on board included giving him the final decision on who he would be handing over his precious to.
The word is Hellboy 2 is Del Toro’s best work yet and is sure to come under massive scrutiny from Tolkien fans worldwide who may well be seeing his work for the first time. Also the critics will be viewing the movie (perhaps unfairly) with an eye towards The Hobbit.
I really enjoyed Pans Labyrinth and thought he did a brilliant job on what was probably a limited budget. I think what stood out the most about the movie was how he managed to make the underworld seem almost natural or at least not unusual. He kept the story rooted in the real world without becoming obsessed and abusing the fantasy and the movie built my anxiety levels because of it.
But is Del Toro’s dark style going to work with the light heartedness that comes from The Hobbit being written as a bed time story for the authors young children? Will they be true to the book or bring it more in line with the Lord Of The Rings? Del Toro has already stated he will be stamping the movies with his own style. He’s also stated that he couldn’t finish The Fellowship of the Ring book yet he wants the second Hobbit movie to seemlessly join the end of the first to the beginning of The Fellowship. How does all this fit in with Jackson’s vision of completing Tolkien’s work?
Hobbit part 2 could be where they let their imaginations run wild and as Jackson showed towards the end of the Rings trilogy, he’s not afraid to do just that. With plenty of gaps to fill in he will find himself with the perfect excuse as no matter what he does with those gaps he cannot hope to keep all the Middle Earth scholars happy.
Personally I’m happy Del Toro has got the job as he’s probably the best man available and was Jackson’s personal choice.
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