Since Guillermo Del Toro departed The Hobbit, various names have been banded about as to who will replace him in the director’s chair. One name to almost certainly make you say “Duh!” is Neill Blomkamp. Theonering have received a report, and they emphatically state that this is rumor right now, which says he will be the man to take the reins.
Blomkamp as director would be the most logical choice, hands down. The film is well into pre-production, so hiring a complete outsider to come in and try and get to grips with the universe Peter Jackson created wouldn’t make much sense. Jackson has rebuked any approaches for he himself to direct, and who can blame him after already spending a large chunk of his life invested in Middle Earth, though he will still oversee the project. The two of them already have an established relationship, with the ill-fated Halo project and District 9, so he would appear to be the ideal fit. Although Blomkamp himself has stated previously that he wouldn’t want to do big-budget pictures, the presence of his mentor might be enough to sway him.
The fact that there has been no official confirmation or denial yet suggests there may be something in it.
Who would your choice be to direct The Hobbit?