The lawsuit dragged on until late 2009, when the parties settled for an undisclosed amount. During the legal wrangling, however, production had continued. The films hit the news in a big way in April 2008, when fan favourite Guillermo Del Toro was hired as the director, having proved himself on films such as Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy and others.
Del Toro heavily invested in the films from that point onwards, working closely with Jackson over the approach and the content, with World War One heavily influencing both. A late script delivery pushed back the proposed release date of December 2011 and December 2012 for the two films amid no casting news, and eventually, it was announced that the films definitely would be delayed.
Despite that, Del Toro spoke widely and often about the films and their development, including the creation of the iconic dragon Smaug and other areas. It was widely accepted that Sir Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving and Andy Serkis would reprise their respective roles of Gandalf, Elrond and Gollum, but no other casting news had emerged, leading to speculation as wild as Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy being in the running for the coveted role of Bilbo Baggins. Disaster, however, would strike the production later in 2010, threatening to sink it far more than any internecine fighting or legal threats had done before.
Guillermo Del Toro, frustrated with the amount of time it had taken to develop the film to date, the still-absent green light for production from the studio (thanks to the ongoing financial woes of MGM), and wary of his future deals with studios such as Universal already in place, announced to TheOneRing.net that he would be leaving the production. A race to find a new director, amid the portents of death and decay that surrounded the film, was on. David Yates and Brett Ratner were among those cited as possible choices for the big seat, but it seemed unlikely, and indeed, unreasonably difficult to put in place, that anyone other than Jackson would direct the two films. Ultimately, he was confirmed as the director in October 2010.
With Jackson in place, the films confirmed as being in 3D, and most of the preproduction work completed as a legacy of Del Toro’s tenure on the films, it finally seemed as if production could forge bravely ahead. Martin Freeman was reportedly considered as the main actor in the running for the role of Bilbo, although his work on Sherlock seemingly prevented him from accepting. Freeman has, according to some reports, since been presented with a new schedule that would allow him to work on both projects, and according to Deadline, he is still the front runner and close to signing.
One final obstacle has occured recently, however, and this may yet prove to have a damaging effect on the films. The New Zealand Actors Equity (NZAE) and the Australian Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (AMEAA), along with the US Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the International Federation Of Actors (IFA) and the American Federation Of Television And Radio Artists (AFTRA), in a series of statements, either urged their members to refrain from, or prohibited them from working on The Hobbit, such as in the Do Not Work order issued by IFA, that stated the production was refusing to employ actors on union-negotiated contracts.
Over the last few days, after tense and bitter recriminations on both sides in the media, the acting unions lifted their bans on members joining the production. Jackson, however, was apparently disinclined to forgive and forget, issuing a statement that the “damage inflicted by NZ Equity/AMEAA is long since done”, and saying that Warner Bros would be looking at locations outside of New Zealand, where the last three Lord Of The Rings films have been made, for shooting.
The gravity of this situation has been emphasised, as reported by Deadline, by the fact that the New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, has asked for a meeting with the studios to organise a solution that involves the production staying in New Zealand. The next move, and how it will affect The Hobbit, remains to be seen.
