Slashfilm are putting forward a case for David Yates as replacement director for The Hobbit now Guillermo Del Toro has vacated the hot seat.
Right from the off Slashfilm admit its only rumor but claim that industry insider tracking boards have him as the studio favorite to take over.
Yates is currently in the editing room putting the finishing touches to the last of the Harry Potter movies which presumably makes him available for The Hobbit.
Slashfilm’s case for Yates hinges on him having experience with big screen fantasy adaptations and a relationship with Warner Bros.
Personally I would think having spent the last few years making Order of the Phoenix and Deathly Hallows parts 1 and 2 he would want a change from Wizards and such.
In the Hobbit forum there are strong cases being made for several directors including Sam Raimi, Terry Gilliam, Tim Burton and of course Peter Jackson.
I was playing around with the Tim Burton idea until forum regular Halfwise commented “The inevitable casting of Johnny Depp as Bilbo chills my marrow.”
Peter Jackson is the obvious fans favorite but he’s not making the right noises – or at least his agent isn’t. The fact is PG has a long list of projects and for him to be able to step in would mean some other studio would have to be willing to tear up his contract. That’s not going to happen – unless Tintin flops of course – as the saying goes, in Hollywood you’re only as good as your last movie.
My personal choice would be Kenneth Branagh. I wasn’t even aware he was back behind the camera until last week watching the BAFTA’s they announced he couldn’t collect his best actor award (for his lead in Wallender) because he was currently in America directing the movie ‘Thor’
Branagh has a proven track record in bringing great works of literature to the big screen. He’s also been out of film making for a while which means he doesn’t currently have the stature or the ego to start demanding to be allowed to ‘stamp’ his style on the movie. Presumably he would be happy to go along with the foundation work already done by GDT and PJ, seeing the value of being associated with The Hobbit and working with PJ and Weta.
Thor the movie is based on the Marvel comic book hero so presumably he’s had the chance to play around with the latest special effects tools and ok this is pushing it a bit but Thor is from Norse mythology which has strong links to Tolkien’s world. Its only a short walk from Asgard to Middle Earth.
The more I think about it the more I like the idea. If he does a good job with Thor and he’s available at the right time then Kenneth Branagh would definitely be my choice for the hot seat. Who’s yours?
Loading ...
