Neill Blomkamp linked to direct ‘The Hobbit’

'District 9' director Neill Blomkamp is being linked to direct 'The Hobbit'. It's no suprise given that he was plucked from obscurity by 'The Lord Of The Rings' trilogy director/producer Peter Jackson.

He’s been the subject of speculation even before Guillermo del Toro got the job, mentioned in the same breath as Sam Raimi and Jackson himself. And now, since Guillermo del Toro walked away from directing The Hobbit, there has been plenty of speculation about who might take his place. For obvious reasons, Peter Jackson’s name keeps coming up, but there are a number of reasons that he is unlikely to do the job. David Yates, David Dobkin and Brett Ratner are all names that have come up, though none of those really thrilled the fan contingent. But if Jackson can’t or won’t do the films, what about his most recent protege?

Backers MGM and Warner Bros. are apparently still hoping that leaving desperate messages on Peter Jackson’s voicemail and sending pleading emails will get him to relent and take on the films himself, something which he is staunchly against, since he’d prefer to simply oversee the production. Which was rather why he picked an experienced old hand to direct the films in the first place.