Del Toro, who is a notorious perfectionist, had been expressing his anger recently over the budget problems delaying production on the film. Rather than sitting around waiting, possibly missing out on other opportunites to direct other projects, he's decided to step aside.
He's still on board to co-write the script alongside Peter Jackson, Phillipa Boyens, and Fran Walsh. The question now becomes who will direct?
Obviously Peter Jackson is the prime contender. He's got the look down pat, having directed the LOTR films. But can he fit it into his schedule? And after the disaster that was The Lovely Bones should he even be given this monumental task?
First of all, Jackson's biggest weakness is the smaller films. He's much better handling the massive special effects laden projects. While I was a huge fan of Heavenly Creatures, I didn't dig his other stuff like The Frighteners or the aforementioned Bones. King Kong ranks somewhere between great and lousy. It's an interesting debacle, I'd say.
Second, Jackson might not have the time to do it even if he wanted. He's contractually bound to complete the Tintin movies alongside Steven Spielberg. Most of Tintin is completed, but the second one is already set to begin shooting in 2011. Doesn't leave much time for anything else, does it?
We do know that Jackson would take on The Hobbit if he could. Speaking to The Dominion Post, he had this to say....
"If [directing the films is] what I have to do to protect Warner Bros’ investment, then obviously that’s one angle which I’ll explore…The other studios may not let me out of the contracts."
