With the news that New Line is trying to patch up their relationship with Peter Jackson which broke this weekend, most Lord of the Rings fans have probably been hoping this means there’s a chance Peter Jackson might direct The Hobbit. Well forget it. IESB claims that instead New Line is currently in negotiations with Spider-Man director Sam Raimi to helm The Hobbit.

Originally word was that Raimi was considering a remake of Clash of the Titans as a Spidey follow up, but now that may be dropped in favor of tackling Middle Earth. That doesn’t however, necessarily leave Peter Jackson out in the cold. The really intriguing thing about IESB’s story is that they say if Raimi directs, then Peter Jackson will produce. We’d have two of Hollywood’s most powerful, talented, and influential filmmakers working together on an adaptation of Tolkien’s The Hobbit.

Perhaps even more importantly, if Jackson is producing it’s almost certain that WETA will be back handling the movie’s effects work, ensuring that even though The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings have different directors they’ll still have that same Middle Earth look we all instantly associate with Tolkien now. This isn’t ideal, I think we’d all rather have Jackson running the show, but if he isn’t directing then this is absolutely the next best thing.