There has been a lot of heated debate about that second Hobbit film. Many Lord of the Rings fans will take anything Middle-Earth, even if it's two hours cobbled out of appendices. Others see it as a betrayal of the Tolkien canon, and a blatant money grab by all involved. I readily admit I fall into the first category -- but I certainly don't want to see a bad film just to get a visual Middle Earth fix.

No matter what camp you fall into, however, Guillermo del Toro just made a statement that should please everyone. According to Defamer, he promises they are looking at adapting The Hobbit first and foremost -- and that a second film may not even happen. "We believe there is a second movie," del Toro said. "If there isn't, there will not be. If we find it, we will shoot it, but by God, if we do not find it, we will not shoot it. I am anxious to shoot the book, and I'm willing and able to dedicate myself to shooting the [second film]. In the four books that are in the domain of the copyright, there are appendices and ideas and things that can be traced without risk. But I have to be careful not to overstep. We believe there is a way to create this film and make it interesting, but it's too early."

Hollywood deals being what they are, this story could be out of date as soon as it's posted, but apparently the latest word on Guillermo del Toro directing The Hobbit is still: "Not a sure thing." That's from the director's mouth to the ears of Total Film, which quotes del Toro as saying "the negotiations have not ended and The Hobbit is not a sure thing."

As Monika Bartyzel posted last week, The Hollywood Reporter published an article stating that del Toro was involved in official talks to direct two films based on the source material by J.R.R. Tolkien. If the deal was signed, del Toro and Peter Jackson would oversee the writing of the scripts and work on pre-production, with filming slated to begin in early 2009 on the first installment for release in 2010.

A couple of days later, the Internet went wild with the rumor that the deal had been closed. That was based on a statement reportedly made at the French premiere of the del Toro-produced The Orphanage. As a video posted on YouTube makes apparent, however, del Toro didn't confirm anything: someone in the audience asked in French, the question was translated into Spanish, and del Toro just smiled.

It's been thirty years since author J.R.R. Tolkien passed away, but that hasn't stopped a brand new book from hitting shelves with his name on the cover. The Children of Hurin (which hits bookstores today) was pieced together by Tolkien's son Christopher from his father's old manuscripts, and already folks are talking big-screen adaptation. Essentially much darker than The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Hurin was told in fragmentary form in The Silmarillion (originally published in 1977) and its story takes place long before Frodo's famous journey.

Yes, we're back in Middle-earth, but this time the tale revolves around Turin and his sister Nienor; two victims of an unfortunate curse placed upon them by the first Dark Lord, Morgoth (to give you an idea as to how badass this dude is, Sauron was Morgoth's servant). Word on the street has it that Hollywood is all over this bad boy, but since Tolkien's estate owns the film rights, a move won't be made until all parties involved are on the same page. It's also important to note that, as of now, New Line has nothing to do with The Children of Hurin. Thus, if another studio were to pick it up, I'm sure Peter Jackson would be the first name on their go-to list (if, for some reason, he doesn't wind up helming The Hobbit instead). Could you imagine if two Tolkien adaptations were in development at the same time, with one to be directed by Sam Raimi and the other by Peter Jackson? Screw big-screen fantasy, for some that would be the ultimate real-life fantasy! Aren't you just giddy with anticipation? I know I am ...

After pirates returned to the big screen in a HUGE way thanks to Disney's highly successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, studios are now looking to do the same with dragons. Eragon ( a story about a boy and his dragon) hits theaters this winter, while Peter Jackson jumped on the mythical creature by dipping into some discretionary funds to option Termeraire, a historical series that revolves around an "air force of dragons and valiant aviators."

Now, Warner Bros. wants a piece of dragon tail, as they've gone and pre-emptively picked up the rights to Here, There Be Dragons, based on an upcoming children's book by James A. Owen. Convinced this pic could fly, David Goyer and David Heyman optioned the book with their own money and began developing it into a feature film. Owen will adapt the script under Goyer's supervision. Story revolves around three strangers who, during World War I, uncover the Imaginarium Geographica, an atlas that points toward the location of all the lands (in myth, legend, fable and fairy tale) that have ever existed. The interesting twist is that these three strangers (named John, Jack and Charles) actually turn out to be J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Charles Williams, who, in real life, all met in London when they were young men. I imagine their adventures together will help lay the foundation for what eventually winds up on the pages of their wildly popular novels. Sounds sweet, but who do we cast? Any ideas?