The Associated Press is reporting the Guillermo del Toro has quit the production of The Hobbit over what it calls production delays. The bigger news in the article is the reason behind these delays, which is that MGM is holding up the production with the haggling over their portion of the rights to the property. It is no secret that MGM is struggling financially, and it seems they are trying to milk The Hobbit rights for all they are worth. That is understandable, but I doubt it is in their financial interests to run a talented, passionate director off the project with their delays. Clearly MGM and all involved make more money if the films are blockbusters, and having a director like del Toro at the helm seems the best way to guarentee that they are done right and live up to Producer Peter Jackson's legacy. The good news is that the AP article does state that del Toro will continue to work with Jackson and Walsh on the screenplays to the proposed two films. I hope this is a sign that he might be ready to jump back on board when the project eventually gets the green light.
Here is the AP article in its entirety at The Boston Herald.
So, what do you think? Is del Toro's departure the nail in the coffin for a troubled project or is this just a bump in the road?