The Hobbit down to one film after all?

When it was announced that Guillermo del Toro was directing The Hobbit, many were elated but few were surprised. Not only was del Toro one of the few directors with a sensibility for magical whimsy tinged with darkness, but he had long been rumored as the first choice for the project. No, the big surprise was that he was planning on creating two films: one to cover the material within The Hobbit and one to cover the lengthy gap before the Lord of the Rings.

That early announcement may not come to pass, however, due to a rights issue with the series. Peter Jackson, who is still set to produce the prequel, owns the rights to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings but no other properties within the Tolkien estate. This means that should they wish to cover grounds not featured in these books, it's possible they literally couldn't do so or at the very least least wouldn't be willing to pay what would certainly amount to a king's ransom for the rights.

Defamer reports that at the Los Angeles Film Festival del Toro spoke about this during a discussion he was giving in support for Hellboy II. "In the four books that are in the domain of the copyright, there are appendices and ideas and things that can be traced without risk. But I have to be careful not to overstep. We believe there is a way to create this film and make it interesting, but it's too early."

The good news is that, all things considered, del Toro is right in asserting that most of the material needed would be in the works they have the rights to. The Silmarillion only covers the Third Age, which is the period The Hobbit and LOTR take place in, for around 20 pages. Unfinished Tales gives this period more space, but generally covers material that came before or after the war period. Other than that, most of the History of Middle-earth series (and its companion volumes in The Hobbit) is about the writing process and early drafts, making it generally apocryphal and unimportant to the cannon. Long story short, these restraints probably won't get in the way of letting del Toro and Jackson do what they feel is best for the series.

"We believe there is a second movie," said del Toro. "If there isn't, there will not be. If we find it, we will shoot it, but by God, if we do not find it, we will not shoot it." So long as he sticks to his guns on this, we have faith that the project will hold a steady course.

Meanwhile, take heed, fanboys and fangirls! Your chance to star in The Hobbit could very well become reality.

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