Guillermo Del Toro left the project that he's been working on for the past two years, The Hobbit.
The director of Pan's Labyrinth, (an AtD favorite), made the announcement on the Lord of the Rings fansite TheOneRing.net just hours ago. He called it the "hardest decision of my life," and cites the ongoing delays in the setting a start date for filming as the reason for his choice to step down.
He has a long line of projects to work on in the upcoming 10 years, and the uncertainty in the starting of this film was a large scheduling conflict for him.
Del Toro was so concentrated on this film for the last two years that he even moved his wife and children to New Zealand, where the movie is set to be shot. The director's original commitment for the two films was for only three years of his time, not the six it's turning into.
Del Toro stated, however, that he will continue to co-write the screenplays with Peter Jackson.
