Way back before Guillermo del Toro was announced as director of The Hobbit, Sam Raimi’s name was being thrown around as a possible helmer. However, as soon as Del Toro got the gig the Raimi rumours obviously died down and we didn’t hear anything else of it. Now he has spoken to Empire magazine about what was going on behind the scenes, and reveals that he thinks Peter Jackson made the right decision:
“I thought that The Hobbit was just a fantastic icon of fantasy literature. I love that book and I’m a giant fan of the Lord of the Rings movies. It would have been an excellent job but Peter Jackson is the producer and he chose who he thinks would be the best filmmaker, which is Guillermo del Toro, who I love.”
“I think that, sheepishly, he may have made the right decision. Guillermo’s such a brilliant filmmaker that I’m dying to see this version. I know it’s going to be great. I talked with Peter [Jackson] once on the phone but never actually met with him. It never really got to that.”
So all that talk of Raimi directing had some truth, however it didn’t get that far to being a reality. While i’m sure he is a little disappointed, he still has Spider-Man 4 to keep him busy, and I agree with him, Guillermo del Toro was a great choice.
