Gandalf himself, Sir Ian McKellen, suggests that the delays over the films of The Hobbit may just be coming to an end…
In line with rumours suggesting that the delays surrounding the planned two movies of The Hobbit might be coming to an end, Sir Ian McKellen has now said that "the aim is to start filming in January". This is the date that's been mooted on a couple of occasions now, and it does seem that the year-long shoot might soon be about to begin.
There are still missing parts of the jigsaw, of course. McKellen will be reprising the role of Gandalf for the two movies, but it's still yet to be confirmed who's going to be calling the shots. The original director, Guillermo del Toro, left the project earlier this year, and it's widely expected that Peter Jackson will be returning to Middle Earth to direct.
Furthermore, it's unclear whether the problems with MGM's finances, which have held the project back, will be resolved by that point too. The plan has been, for some time, for MGM to have been sold by now, but we understand that the potential suitors for the studio have not been coming close to the asking price.
However, January does seem like a decent target, and if that is, indeed, the case, then it would suggest that we'll be getting The Hobbit Part I in time for Christmas 2012, with the second movie likely to follow a year later.
Here's more on the story at The Bolton News.