Some new information regarding Guillermo del Toro’s take on The Hobbit and its sequel as well as some Lord of the Rings trilogy related news hit the Internet today along with a chance for Blu-ray owners to chat with del Toro himself while you watch your Hellboy II Blu-ray.
First we start with ComingSoon‘s chat with del Toro as he spoke about the casting process on The Hobbit saying, “What you discover writing the two movies, writing the two stories, it changes. So, every week there’s a discovery, and anything we say this week would be contradicted next week. Certainly that would be true in casting. Why create hopes or why create expectations if down the line you’re going to go, ‘You know what? That was not a good idea.'”
For anyone that already owns the Blu-ray or DVD edition of Hellboy II, you already know del Toro is not an “all CGI” guy and he hopes to do the same with Hobbit saying, “We want to do a muscle-driven, radio-controlled suits for a couple of things. I already started that with Wink in ‘Hellboy II.’ Wink was pushed as far as we could within the time limits and the budget limits of the movie and we’re going to take what we learned and apply it.”
“Smaug is the creature in ‘The Hobbit.’ The way Tolkien wrote it, already, is magnificent.” He continued, talking about what direction he plans on taking with the famed dragon, “One of the best and one of the strongest landmarks that almost nobody can overcome is Dragonslayer. The design of the Vermithrax Pejorative is perhaps one of the most perfect creature designs ever made. So, what you have to be careful is not to try to be distinctive just to be distinctive, but Smaug has certain characteristics that make him unique already. I am bursting at the seams about spilling the beans, but I won’t because I would be shot.”
Moving forward in time, it is already known Warner Home Video is planning to release the original Lord of the Rings trilogy on Blu-ray, but Blu-ray.com has received word it will only be the theatrical editions. Now, before you get upset, the reason the extended editions are being kept in check is because director Peter Jackson wants to save the extended versions for a super Blu-ray boxset to be released near the theatrical release of The Hobbit, which is aiming to have its first installment in theaters in 2010 with the sequel following in 2011.
Of course this means that by 2012 there will probably be a super-duper edition including the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit and its sequel. So when and where you expect to do your double-dipping is up to you, but you at least are in the know.
- Log on to www.universalhidef.com to create a user name and password – or – login if already registered.
- Once registered, in “My Account,” select the “Directors Chat” tab to submit up to three questions.
- Connect your Blu-ray player to the Internet and chat with Guillermo Del Toro on November 23rd.
I don’t like Hellboy II, but this is something I am probably going to have to check out for sure. If you don’t already own the Hellboy II Blu-ray you still have enough time to order it from Amazon and get prepped and ready to go, just click here to buy your copy.
