Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro rose to prominence during the early 1990s, establishing himself as one of the best filmmakers with a unique storytelling style. Del Toro was initially tapped to helm a live-action adaptation of the J. R. R. Tolkien novel The Hobbit.
Despite working on the project, del Toro eventually left the director’s chair with Peter Jackson turning it into a trilogy. However, following his Academy Award win, del Toro has seen a resurgence in popularity and recently delivered one of his highest-rated movies.
Del Toro’s highest-rated movie is proof that the filmmaker could still bring a very unique take on the source material. As a result, it might not be too late for a del Toro-directed The Hobbit adaptation, despite the existence of Jackson’s trilogy and here is why.
Guillermo del Toro was originally supposed to direct The Hobbit
After the success of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy in the early 2000s, an adaptation of the prequel novel The Hobbit had been in development. In April 2008, Guillermo del Toro was officially hired as director for the adaptation.
In an interview, del Toro revealed his plans to adapt the novel into two movies, with the first being a direct adaptation of the source material and the second bridging the gap to the Jackson-directed trilogy.
I plan to change and expand the visuals from Peter’s and I know the world can be portrayed in a different way.
Del Toro made the above statement (via Premiere), expressing a desire for a new visual style for the first installment, with the second gradually growing closer to Jackson’s style.
Ultimately, del Toro would end up exiting the project, citing production delays (via ComingSoon). As a result, his vision for the adaptation of the classic children’s novel remained unrealized while Jackson returned to direct what would become the prequel trilogy to his Lord of the Rings movies.
Guillermo del Toro’s highest-rated movie proves that his The Hobbit adaptation needs to happen
From del Toro’s words, it is evident that the filmmaker had something unique in mind for his visual style when adapting the classic novel. However, del Toro’s version went unrealized, and another big-budget live-action adaptation seems unnecessary.
Meanwhile, del Toro delightfully surprised everyone with his adaptation of the classic children’s fantasy novel Pinocchio. The film currently sits at a tomato meter rating of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it del Toro’s highest-rated movie of all time.
Moreover, del Toro’s take on the source material was visually fresh but retained the core of the classic novel. As a result, it is proof that the filmmaker’s take on The Hobbit, a similarly popular children’s novel, could still be relevant despite Jackson’s trilogy.
Recently, del Toro has also expressed an interest in focusing more on animated movies (via Empire). As a result, the visual treatment could perfectly suit his take on the Tolkien classic while distinguishing it from Jackson’s version. As a result, it might not be too late for del Toro to realize his vision for The Hobbit.
The Hobbit trilogy can be rented on Amazon Prime Video.
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