Zed’s Dead

After years of languishing in developmental hell and litigation, J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic novel, The Hobbit, is being scheduled for release sometime in 2010 as a two-part film adaptation. Jackson, who currently will reportedly serve as the film’s producer. E! News reports:

New Line Cinema and Peter Jackson have made nice in their blood feud over The Lord of the Rings royalties, paving the way for the Oscar-winning filmmaker to oversee an epic version of The Hobbit. “I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line,” Jackson said in a statement Tuesday. “We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth.”

Harry Sloan, MGM’s chairman and CEO, said:

“Peter Jackson has proven himself as the filmmaker who can bring the extraordinary imagination of Tolkien to life and we full heartedly agree with the fans worldwide who know he should be making The Hobbit.”

Spider-Man and Evil Dead director Sam Raimi has expressed interest in helming the adaptation, but really, who are we kidding? It doesn’t matter who directs. The LOTR trilogy made over $3 billion worldwide at the box office, you can’t fuck this up. They could hire a donkey and the guy who eats by himself in the cubicle next to yours will still have his mom drop him off at least six hours before the first midnight show.