For many fans The Lord of the Rings is the greatest trilogy of films ever and when Peter Jackson announced that we would not direct the prequel, The Hobbit, the fan based moaned, then he announced that Guillermo del Toro would be directing and the fans cheered, then the series lost del Toro and the fans are sad again.

What's happened? It seems because of the legal problems with the rights to the film with MGM and Warner it's taken so long to get the ball rolling on the film del Toro has simply run out of time and had to leave.

Jackson and his staff are naturally all on board still and fighting to get the film made but the loss of the director is a massive blow, del Toro's films like Hellboy and Pans Labyrinth have proved that the director is more than capable of handling the film and in actual fact would have given the production the perfect style to accompany Jacksons originals.

Where will the films go now? Who knows, Sam Rami has been connected, will be interesting to see where it goes with him, Spidey trilogy shows he can miss on occasions but Evil Dead and Drag Me to Hell can show he has style, but maybe, just maybe Jackson will take the helm himself.

This is a big blow for the production and puts things on rocky ground; del Toro will still help with the script, which is something. Let hope a director can be found who can deliver, Neill Blomkamp anyone?