By Ryan Parsons | Image property of respective holders.
The Hobbit
With Sam Raimi's name listed as Jackson-replacement for The Hobbit, I had no idea the director was actually taking the gig that seriously. Well, at least not seriously enough to abandon the Spider-Man franchise for it.
Raimi to Pass Up Spider-Man 4 for The Hobbit?
Though Spider-Man 3 may close out a trilogy, that doesn't mean more installments aren't available. Sam Raimi is therefore left with a choice - direct The Hobbit or Spider-Man 4. If he is to go with The Hobbit, Spider-Man 4 would most likely become permanently delayed.
A replacement director? I wouldn't count on it. As Kirsten Dunst predicts, the cast and crew are bound to crumble with Raimi's departure.
Here is a snippet from a recent interview between Raimi, Dunst and EW.
Raimi's name has been floated in connection with The Hobbit ever since a very public dustup between Peter Jackson and New Line chairman Bob Shaye left the Lord of the Rings prequel without a director. Raimi went on the record for the first time about his potential involvement in the project during an exclusive interview with EW's Steve Daly for the magazine's Summer Movie Preview issue, on newsstands Friday: ''Peter Jackson might be the best filmmaker on the planet right now. But, um, I don't know what's going to happen next for me right now. First and foremost, those are Peter Jackson and Bob Shaye's films. If Peter didn't want to do it, and Bob wanted me to do it — and they were both okay with me picking up the reins — that would be great. I love the book. It's maybe a more kid-friendly story than the others.'' (If Raimi were to take on a complex, intense project like The Hobbit — the rights to which New Line/MGM only has for a limited amount of time — it could force Columbia to either push back its production schedule for Spider-Man 4 or find a new director for the franchise.)
Dunst says she hadn't heard any rumors about Raimi and The Hobbit until EW raised the subject in an interview. She says she can't imagine returning for Part 4 without both her director and her costar: ''It's disrespectful to the whole team, I think, to do that. And audiences aren't stupid. It'd be a big flop without me, Tobey, or Sam. That would really not be the smartest move. But they know that already. [Sony chief] Amy Pascal would never do that.'' Maguire has already expressed his ambivalence about returning for another sequel.
Hopefully Jackson miraculously gets The Hobbit gig, placing everything back in order.
Add to Heffee!
