del Toro Officially Signed to Direct 'The Hobbit' and Sequel

After he finishes his post-production work on this summer's Hellboy 2, del Toro will move to New Zealand for the next four years to work with Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, who will be co-executive producing the new films, and his Wingnut and Weta production teams. The new films will be shot back to back, and the sequel will deal with the 60-year period between The Hobbit and the beginning of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

New Line is overseeing development and will manage production. The films are being co-produced and co-financed by New Line Cinema and MGM, with Warner Bros. distributing domestically and MGM handling international.