After finishing the marathon saga of The Lord of the Rings, rumors began about the possible adaptation of the novel The Hobbit, written by Tolkien, which precedes what happened in the fantastic trilogy.
Today, it is already known that the project is underway, under the orders of Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson, director and producer respectively. At first it was said that The Hobbit I was going to have two films: a first that covered what was told in the book; and for its successor, a story that serves as a bridge to the trilogy filmed by Jackson. Apparently, the plans changed.
In a recent interview for the magazine Empire, Del Toro and Jackson announced that although there will be two films, both will tell the story of Tolkien's original novel. "We decided to split The Hobbit into two films that will include The White Council and some relevant Gandalf Dol Guldur stuff" explained Del Toro.
Meanwhile the executive producer of the project acknowledged that "We realized that it would be a mistake to try to put everything in one film", Jackson justified.
The film adaptation of the children's novel that begins the adventures of Middle-earth, expected for December 2011 and 2012. Hopefully both maintain the level of the epic trilogy filmed a few years ago.
Source: The Curia