Ain’t It Cool has reported that Guillermo Del Toro has officially signed on to direct the film adaptation of The Hobbit.

First off, I just want to point out that The Hobbit is, far and away, a children’s fantasy/adventure tale. I like Del Toro…a lot…in fact, Pan’s Labyrinth was one of the best fantasy films of, I don’t know, ever. And while that film had, as its main character, a child, it wasn’t exactly “for the kidz.” I’m just a bit hesitant that someone with such a dark sensibility will be helming the adaptation of one of Tolkien’s most lighthearted works…then again, Peter Jackson directed both Bad Taste and Meet the Feebles and none of that crap showed up in the Ring’s Trilogy.

The real interesting bit from the article is the revelation that Del Toro will actually direct two films, and no The Hobbit is not being chopped into parts uno and dos. The Hobbit will be one film, and the second will be a bridge story between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring.

Now, JRR Tolkien wasn’t exactly light on “secondary” source-type material…nevertheless, Del Toro’s attempt to tell that story should at least be interesting.

Interpol – The Heinrich Maneuver