See that. That weird, unique design that looks like a mesh of The Lord Of The Rings and Pan's Labyrinth? That's the original design for Smaug. Yeah, seriously. Originally Guillermo del Toro was set to be the director of The Hobbit duology, set to deliver a take on the book that, while set in the same world as Jackson's The Lord Of The Rings, would be stylistically distinct. What concept art has been revealed looks incredible, while his story divide (the aforementioned two-parter, with the first telling the bulk of the story and second filling in the gaps between books) would have been much more narratively satisfying. Sadly, as the whole process stretched out longer and longer (without a studio giving a green-light), he jumped ship to work on his own projects, leaving his take to the realms of "what if's". Del Toro's departure not only robbed fans of a worthy Hobbit, but it also set in motion the events that made many of the issues talked about earlier. You see, Peter Jackson didn't have much of an interest in bringing The Hobbit to life, but a lengthy pre-production period meant he had no choice in the matter. He had to make them or risk losing a lot of money, leading to a bunch of decisions (splitting it in three, cliffhanger endings, holding content back for double-dip home video releases) that have had a major impact on the films' ultimate quality. Anyone for a reboot? What were your thoughts on The Hobbit Trilogy as whole? Did The Battle Of The Five Armies expertly round it off, or merely reaffirm how messy the enterprise was? Have your say down in the comments.
