Guillermo del Toro to helm THE HOBBIT?

It's being reported this morning in industry trades (and I first heard about it from Ain't It Cool News) that Guillermo del Toro is the likely choice to direct the upcoming film duology of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. The series is already being produced by Peter Jackson, as a prequel to Jackson's earlier mega-successful The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.

I'll admit some disappointment here, because I was sure that del Toro was also in the running to direct Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (which is also said to be a two-part production). But that aside: del Toro is a superb choice to bring The Hobbit to life on the big screen. I'm a huge fan of his Hellboy movie (and am looking forward to seeing Hellboy 2: The Golden Army) and I thought that Pan's Labyrinth, although I didn't quite "get" it, I still gotta love del Toro's signature visual style. Now imagine that same imagination getting to work on Mirkwood Forest, the spiders' lair, the elves' hall, Esgaroth on the Long Lake, the Lonely Mountain, the Battle of Five Armies... and of course, Smaug (maybe he'll be voiced by Ron Perlman? :-P).

If this story is true, then I am really, really looking forward to seeing The Hobbit when it comes to theaters. Especially with Lisa, since this is one of her favorite books :-)