10 Directors Who Almost Directed 2014's Biggest Movies

2. Guillermo Del Toro Almost Directed The Hobbit

The reviews are now in for the last edition of the Hobbit trilogy and while they're mixed to say the least, the general consensus seems to be that Peter Jackson was the perfect man to continue the vision of Middle Earth after the Lord Of The Rings trilogy was so on-point. But the films almost weren't in his hands. Jackson had worked with Del Toro on an ultimately canned Halo project, but the pair kept in contact and Del Toro was hired in 2008 as director, though Jackson expected to be involved heavily as producer, and asked to be second unit director. This was despite Del Toro having infamously said "I don't like little guys and dragons, hairy feet, hobbits... I don't like sword and sorcery, I hate all that stuff" in 2006. He made up for it though, diligently researching Tolkien's work and influences and pouring himself into preparation. He had a tight vision for the project, and were it not for massive production delays he would have been the man to lead the trilogy. What It Would Have Been Like It would have been more like a fairy-tale, according to Philippa Boyens, while Del Toro himself admitted during production that he would have used more animatronics, and cast Ron Perlman. In other news, water is wet.