According to Guillermo Del Toro, the new plan for himself and Peter Jackson is to make their Hobbit movie adaptation span two films rather than one.

Speaking to Empire magazine, he wrote:

We’ve decided to have The Hobbit span the two movies, including the White Council and the comings and goings of Gandalf to Dol Guldur.

What this means for the other ‘bridge’ movie – filling the gap between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring – is unclear at the moment.

Thanks for SlashFilm for the scoop.

Lord of the Rings co-writer and  director Peter Jackson is to write the screenplay for The Hobbit alongside director Guillermo Del Toro.

After an eight-month search for a co-writer for the Lord of the Rings prequel, executive producer Peter Jackson has decided to step in and do the job himself, much to the delight of many fans of the original movie trilogy. 

In my opinion, however, the even better news is that Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, who worked with Jackson on Lord of The Rings, have also joined the writing team.

I am a fan of Del Toro’s directing style, but I’m not sure how much faith I had in his ability to adapt one of my most beloved books.  With proven masters also at the helm, I’m greatly reassured.

Source: AFP

According to the online rumour mill, Scottish actor James McAvoy is being considered for the role of a younger Bilbo Baggins in the upcoming movie adaptation of The Hobbit from Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro.

The names of Daniel Radcliffe and Jack Black have also been mentioned in relation to the role.

In the original movie trilogy, Bilbo Baggins was played by actor Ian Holm. And while Guillermo recently said in an online chat that there are still plans to use Ian Holm “in some fashion for sure”, he admitted that “the difficulty of the role will be better assessed after” the screenplays are completed.

McAvoy is no stranger to casting rumours, previously having been favourite to play Scotty in Star Trek XI.  That role eventually went to Simon Pegg.

Well known to sci-fi fans, McAvoy played Leto Atreides in Sci-Fi Channel’s Children of Dune and will soon appear alongside Angelina Jolie in Wanted.

Admittedly, the source on this is the Daily Express, a British newspaper which isn’t renowned for its journalistic reliability.  Nonetheless, sometimes these things turn out to be true.

In the midst of all the Doctor Who excitement, what else is going on out there?

Scarce little.

In a round up of the latest happenings, we’ve had some movement on the Hobbit movies. Yep, that’s right, movies. Details can be found here. It’s Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson – what’s to fear?

Battlestar Galactica’s ticking along nicely, four episodes into its fourth and final season. I might, and I strongly emphasise might, get some reviews up here soon, but we’ll see how time and energy levels are going.

Finally, those of you interested in the upcoming James McAvoy/Angelina Jolie/Morgan Freeman movie, Wanted, should note that we’re now looking at a 25th June 2008 release date, at least for the UK.

Peter Jackson To Direct “The Hobbit”

NEW YORK – Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema have reached agreement to make J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” a planned prequel to the blockbuster trilogy “The Lord of the Rings.”

Relations between Jackson and New Line had soured after the enormous success of “Rings,” but Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) helped the two sides reach agreement. MGM and New Line will split the film 50/50, a spokesman for MGM said.

“I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line,” Jackson said in a statement.