This kind of makes sense. After the Halo: Movie debacle we know that Peter Jackson views Neill Blomkamp as his go to guy for directing anything he’s producting but doesn’t actually want to show up on set for. And for whatever insane reason, despite logic, reason, and the pressure of a lot of large investors, he has pretty much refused to direct The Hobbit. Enter Neill Blomkamp?

The One Ring has picked up something from a spy who tells them that Neill Blomkamp is on board to direct The Hobbit. They haven’t been able to verify the rumor yet, but they seem pretty confident, and when it comes to Middle Earth, there’s no one better about getting this stuff right than them. They speculate that if he’s hired, the studio may simply be keeping it under wraps in order to announce his hiring at the fast approaching San Diego Comic Con in July. Good news, we’ll be there to report it if they do.

Is he a good choice? Maybe. District 9 was masterful and it seems clear that he and Jackson have already a great working relationship, which should make the transition from departed director Guillermo del Toro to Blomkamp go pretty smoothly. Fans seem to like the notion of putting him in charge too. Blomkamp was one of Cinema Blend readers’ top picks for the job in our informal poll.

Except where does this leave Neill Blomkamp’s other projects? In theory he’s supposed to be working on a sequel to District 9. In fact a few weeks go it was rumored that District 10 would be ready to start shooting as soon as October. If he’s doing The Hobbit, that’ll have to come first, which will mean a long wait before we’ll get the much anticipated District 9 sequel, if ever.