Del Toro leaves The Hobbit

Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has withdrawn from the highly anticipated new film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien'sThe Hobbit, calling the decision the hardest of his life.

The noted Mexican-born director made the announcement on Monday to Lord of the Rings fansite www.theonering.net.

"In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming The Hobbit, I am faced with the hardest decision of my life," del Toro said.

"After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien's Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures.

Though he is stepping down from directing the planned two-film project, del Toro said he will continue to co-write the screenplays with executive producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, Jackson's wife,along with the couple's regular collaborator, screenwriter Philippa Boyens.

No green light from MGM

Del Toro, who had moved to Wellington, New Zealand, with his family to work on the films, noted that The Hobbit films have still not received a green light for production to start from struggling Hollywood studio MGM, which is co-distributing the project with New Line.

The first of the two films had been tentatively slated to hit theatres in December 2012.

"We understand how the protracted development time on these two films, due to reasons beyond anyone's control, has compromised [del Toro's] commitment to other long-term projects," Jackson told the website.

"The bottom line is that Guillermo just didn't feel he could commit six years to living in New Zealand, exclusively making these films, when his original commitment was for three years."

The two Hobbit films are meant to serve as a prequel to Jackson's blockbuster, The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.

"New Line and Warner Bros. will sit down with us this week, to ensure a smooth and uneventful transition, as we secure a new director for The Hobbit. We do not anticipate any delay or disruption to ongoing pre-production work," Jackson said.

Earlier this year, citing uncertainty over the financial troubles of MGM, producers of the James Bond films shelved their next instalment of the super spy franchise.

Busy slate

Del Toro, whose film credits include sci-fi and horror fare like Mimic, and comic book titles such as Blade II and the Hellboy franchise, gained international accolades and fame with his tragic, award-winning fairy tale Pan's Labyrinth.

Lately, he has served as producer or executive producer on a host of films, including the recent drama Mother and Child, his Mexican colleague Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Biutiful and the horror film Splice, starring Sarah Polley.

He also co-wrote a vampire novel The Strain, which was published in 2009 and is the first of a planned trilogy.

Aside from the Hobbit films, the director, screenwriter, designer and producer's busy slate of future projects includes potential updates on Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as well as the launch of a new production label of family-friendly animated thrillers for Disney.