If Peter Jackson is not going to be making The Hobbit, then who else has the imagination to pull it off?
We’ve thought of some possible contenders to join Middle Earth. Total Film put its many heads together and came up with five potential candidates that could bring a unique spin on the most important prequel since… well, we’re sure you know.
1. Zack Snyder
Snyder has just finished a green-screen version of 300, the acclaimed “Spartan” comic by Sin City writer Frank Miller. He's also been handed the director’s chair for Watchmen, Allan Moore’s seemingly un-filmable “Holy Bible of comics”.
With the cojones to adapt Watchmen - a feat that even Terry Gilliam deemed impossible - Snyder could be the most serious contender. But only if he can prove that he’s a hit with the fans by retaining the comics' spirits.
Aronofsky is a potential contender thanks to his unique visual style and powerful imagination. However, the fact that his century spanning sci-fi romance, The Fountain, is deemed not to be the masterpiece people had hoped may put studio heads off.
A year ago, the former Hellboy director would probably not even have been on the list. With Pan’s Labyrinth being hailed as a masterpiece, del Toro may have the imagination and the ability to transform the novel to the screen and get the fans on side.
The Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban director was credited with being the first of the Potter films to actually capture the spirit of the novel.
His recent dystopian sci-fi picture Children of Men (an adaptation of the PD James novel) also showcased his talent for transferring the spirit of a novel to the big screen whilst also drawing in the multiplex crowds.
5. Chris Weitz
The American Pie director may not be the first name you’d think of when it comes to adapting giant fantasy fiction novels to the silver screen but the American is currently filming a version of Philip Pullman’s international bestseller, His Dark Materials.
The fact that the Dark Materials films would be rivals of The Hobbit may exclude him. On the other hand, that didn’t stop Bryan Singer from jumping ship, did it?
