Guillermo Del Toro Out As Director Of “The Hobbit”

Mexican-born lensman Guillermo Del Toro has dropped as director of the long-awaited theatrical premiere of The Hobbit movies, citing production delays, The Washington Post has learned.

“In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming “The Hobbit”, I am faced with the hardest decision of my life,” Del Toro told Lord of the Rings fan website The One Ring on Sunday. “After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien’s Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures.”

Del Toro proved his fantasy chops on such films as Pan’s Labyrinth and the Hellboy series prior to being selected to helm The Hobbit.

The two movies have been billed as prequels to the JR Tolkien-penned Lord of the Rings trilogy, which were directed by Peter Jackson. Jackson is set to produce The Hobbit features — he says he’s disapppointed he won’t be working with Del Toro when the series ultimately does begin filming in New Zealand.

“We understand how the protracted development time on these two films, due to reasons beyond anyone?s control, has compromised his commitment to other long-term projects,” Jackson said. “The bottom line is that Guillermo just didn’t feel he could commit six years to living in New Zealand, exclusively making these films, when his original commitment was for three years.”

The Hobbit films are currently scheduled for release in December 2012 and December 2013.