As we reported earlier in the week, Peter Jackson has finally made amends with New Line Cinema and the two will be joining forces for two movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. What was unclear, however, was whether or not Jackson would be directing the movies himself. All of the press releases stated that he would be on board as executive producer, and although some sources assumed he would also be directing, it now looks like this will definitely not be the case.

Entertainment Weekly cut to the heart of the matter, receiving confirmation from Peter Jackson’s agent Ken Kamins that he would not be in the driver’s seat: “Peter won’t be directing the films because he felt the fans have waited long enough for The Hobbit… It will take the better part of every day of the next four years to write, direct, and produce the two Hobbit films. Given his current obligations to both The Lovely Bones and Tintin, waiting for Peter, Fran, and Philippa to write, direct, and produce The Hobbit would require the fans wait even longer.

So let the speculation start anew. Sam Raimi, Guillermo Del Toro and Alfonso Cuaron are all names being mentioned as possible directors, although Sam Raimi just announced that he will be directing a new horror flick in early 2008, which may potentially put him out of the running.

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