Will 'The Hobbit' Finally Happen?

After the spectacular achievement that is the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy, I was expecting that Peter Jackson will start working on the 'Rings' prequel, 'The Hobbit'. However, another battle (very much unlike those fought at Helm's Deep and Pelennor Fields) left the possibility of a Jackson-directed 'Hobbit' film as good as dead.

There has been a nasty legal scuffle raging for years between director Jackson and Robert Shaye, New Line Cinema's co-chairman, over unpaid profits and the denial of Jackson's request for auditing of the films' income (which isn't much, only $3 billion dollars - loose change. hehe) . The rift got so bad and too personal that the future of 'The Hobbit' became quite grim.

But if the latest news is true and the two parties are indeed moving towards a resolution, we might see hope for 'The Hobbit' after all. Personally, I'd like to see no other director to work on ‘Hobbit’ other than Peter Jackson. I am quite sure that the books’ millions of fans feel the same way. In fact there are several ongoing campaigns calling for a ‘Hobbit’ film with no other than Peter on the helm.

Peter Jackson has perfectly captured J.R.R. Tolkien’s vision and made it more real for us. I’d love to see Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, and others, brought to life once again by Jackson and his team. For me, ‘The Hobbit’ was a more enjoyable and fun read compared to the trilogy, and I just can’t wait to see that thrilling story of adventure, bravery and loyalty realized on screen. I’m hoping that things will turn out great for ‘The Hobbit’ and Peter Jackson and he will indeed be directing this much-awaited prequel. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Meanwhile, I don’t have any idea on who might be the perfect actor to portray Bilbo, though. Ian McKellen has expressed interest in playing Gandalf once more and frankly I can’t think of any other actor for the role. The other LOTR stars have also professed their allegiance to Jackson and to whatever he is planning to do, although most of their roles don’t really have much significance in the story of ‘The Hobbit’. Who do you think can portray Bilbo best?