When we first heard about MGM’s financial woes back in October of last year, the first question on everyone’s mind was: What will this do to The Hobbit? At the time the company was headed for bankruptcy and their future projects were grinding to a halt. Fans were assured that The Hobbit would move forward anyway, but now it looks like that may not be the case.

Currently, MGM is attempting to avoid bankruptcy by selling itself to the highest bidder. TheOneRing.net says that impending sale is why it’s taking so long for anything to get done with The Hobbit. After all, the script was completed way back in November, yet shooting has been delayed until at least next summer. Their source says that the studio’s financial troubles are “a significant part of possibly pushing the films back.”

It seems those original reports we heard back in October, which indicated the film would be pushed back to at least a 2012 release date, were correct. Everyone involved is, of course, hoping for a best case scenario but the 2012 seems more realistic. In fact that jives with the information leaked by WB a few weeks ago.

MGM only has a fifty percent stake in The Hobbit, the other fifty percent is owned by Warner Bros, who absorbed New Line back into the fold when they went belly up. That should make it easier to get the film made in spite of MGM’s insolvency, but right now, it sounds like everything’s kind of a mess. 2012 I can live with. Just get it done before Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro wander off. We don’t need another Halo on our hands.