Sam Raimi Approached To Direct 'The Hobbit'

Much thanks to Tina Louise, who is a regular to the site, for the next piece of news. For those of you who didn't know, there is actually a book called The Hobbit that takes place many years before The Lord of the Rings Trilogy that focuses on Bilbo Bagins and his adventures with Gandalf. Well, TheOneRing.net is suggesting that Sam Raimi has been approached by the studio to direct the film since the studio has been turned down by Peter Jackson. Here is an excerpt:

"Word from a reliable source indicates that Sam Raimi has been approached to direct THE HOBBIT. Since Peter Jackson's (Middle-)earth shattering news that he is off the project, it seems the Spider-Man director may step into his place. Raimi was born on October 23rd, 1959 in Royal Oak, Michigan. His first big hit was 'The Evil Dead' but he really gained cult status with 'Evil Dead II'. It is his amazing work on the Spider-Man series that has propelled Raimi to the mainstream. His latest film 'Spider-Man 3' is due out this May. While there is no word on Raimi accepting the invitation, it remains to be seen who, if anyone, will be replacing Peter Jackson!"

Call me selfish, but I want to see Sam get down and dirty and make a low budget movie starring Bruce. If the rumors are true and Sam does take the job, Sam will need as much time to do this film as he needs with the Spider-Man movies. Which means he will be in it for the long haul and to quote Bruce, "When Sam stops liking money, maybe something will happen with Evil Dead 4". If Sam indeed is declared the director in the coming weeks, we can be sure that The Hobbit will be a great movie and that Bruce (and probably Ted too) will be apart of another Hollywood blockbuster. Sam is a great choice though because if you think about it, Sam spent so many years producing Xena and Hercules down in New Zealand, and kiwi territory is likely where The Hobbit will be filmed. Sam and Rob can rekindle the old connections and get to work with people they already know. For you hardcore Xena and Herc fans out there, you can see a lot of familiar faces between those two shows and the actors/actresses you see in The Lord of the Rings and if Sam went down there to direct The Hobbit, it would be perfect. You can read the original source report here.