Director Guillermo del Toro Leaves “The Hobbit”

Guillermo del Toro Hellboy Hobbit movie J.R.R. Tolkien Lord of the Rings Pan's Labyrinth Peter Jackson The Hobbit The Hobbit director

8:42 pm, May 30th, 2010

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(GettyImages.com)

The Hobbit will have a new honcho.

Guillermo del Toro announced on Sunday that he is no longer going to direct the highly anticipated two-part prequel to Lord of the Rings.

“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 said on J.R.R. Tolkien fan site TheOneRing.net.

“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 delivered dazzling visuals as the director of Pan’s Labyrinth and the Hellboy movies.

A replacement has not been named.

The films are still scheduled to be released in December 2012 and December 2013.

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