This past weekend TheOneRing.net revealed that after investing two years in the pre-production of the two part movie The Hobbit (prequel to Peter Jackson’s massively successful The Lord of the Rings trilogy ) Guillermo Del Toro has officially left the project. Citing his frustration with the delays associated with the project, Del Toro had this to say about the middle earth movie adaptation: “After living 2 years breathing designing a world as rich as Tolkien’s Middle Earth, I must with great regret take leave from helming these wonderful pictures”. Single tear . . .

Anyone familiar with Del Toro’s impressive body of work knows that their are few directors who could possibly step into his shoes. Films like Pan’s Labyrinth, Blade 2, and both Hellboy movies created worlds with creative and disturbing creatures that evoked a dream-like sensibility perfectly suited for Tolkien’s masterpiece. The combination of Peter Jackson producing and Guillermo Del Toro directing the film seemed like a perfect fit, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. No one has been announced as Del Toro’s replacement, but Peter Jackson has his work cut out for him finding a director with Del Toro’s creative instincts. Personally we would love to see someone like Danny Boyle or Christopher Nolan direct the epic two-parter. Check out TheOneRing’s Quickbeam with a reaction to the news and read more about the devastating update here [theonering]. Try not to inflict massive amounts of water damage upon your keyboard with all of the tears you will be shedding over Del Toro’s unfortunate abandonment.

Related posts on 30ninjas.com:

• Guillermo del Toro Cameos in The Hobbit
• The Hobbit Won’t Be 3-D
• Scripts for The Hobbit Are Complete
• The Hobbit Filming Gets Pushed Back
• Deadman Is Del Toro’s Top Priority?
• The Hobbit Wants to Start in June