The week started with the awesome news that Guillermo del Toro was in talks to direct the two movie adaptation of The Hobbit. Then the news kind of fizzled out. Despite being reported through the mainstream press, no new developments were coming and there were even reports of del Toro talking about his beloved H.P. Lovecraft adaptation. So, what gives?

Well, for right now it sounds like del Toro is pretty much a lock to direct The Hobbit. In fact, The One Ring.net is running a report that says it’s 99% certain del Toro is the man. So why hasn’t there been any further announcements, confirmations, or Hobbit parades celebrating the deal? As with so many things these days, it comes back to the writer’s strike.

Apparently New Line won’t make any official announcement until the strike is officially over. The main reason for this is because an extended writer’s strike, going on for another year, would change all schedules, which means anyone who was officially on board might end up having to leave. Rather than announce del Toro is officially the guy, New Line is playing it safe and making sure he really can commit to it. Unofficially, these “talks” that the press have reported are all but done, but on record nobody will be formally announced as the director until the schedule can be set, and that won’t happen until the strike is done.

I completely support the writers, but this is a definite downside to the ongoing strike. Let’s hope the AMPTP and WGA can come to an agreement soon so we can get back to Middle Earth, courtesy of Guillermo del Toro.