The Hobbit is on hold after becoming caught up in negotiations over MGM’s future, a report claims.
Director Guillermo Del Toro said the Lord Of The Rings prequel, based on the JRR Tolkien novel, will not receive a start date until the movie studio’s future is clear.
Rumors that MGM was “teetering on bankruptcy” emerged last September and the studio has since been given a fourth extension on its payment deadline.
Del Toro told Comingsoon.net: “It’s not greenlit. That’s categorical… We’ve been caught in a very tangled negotiation… There cannot be any start dates until the MGM situation gets resolved. They do hold a considerable portion of the rights.” The director added that the production team are prepared for when the film is “finally triggered”.
So much for the official release date.