Last week came the sad news that acclaimed director Guillermo del Toro had stepped down from helming the Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit. For a film that has been in limbo since 2004, this announcement seemed like the death nail to the much anticipated Tolkein adaptation.


However, Ian McKellen, who played the wizard Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings films posted on his Twitter account today that the project is still in production: "Hobbit sets are ready, script ready and movie is casting this month. Fans are not to worry." So despite the lack of a director, The Hobbit is still ready to go. Now we may not see the release as soon as earlier expected, but we certainly have not heard the last of this project.

The Hobbit movie seems to be creeping along according to actor Ian McKellen, who played the wizard Gandalf in the trilogy of films released almost ten years ago. McKellan mentioned today to What's Playing? that he is pleased with the script, but only just discussing a contract for the film several days ago. At the moment him, and the film, are in a state of limbo. McKellan mentions that he's excited for filming, and plans to meet with director Guillermo del Toro and executive producer Peter Jackson later this month. Despite this disconcerting news, was countered by comments made by actor Andy Serkis, who played Gollum. Serkis insists that shooting will start in May. Either way, it will still be some time before we return to Middle-Earth.