Guillermo del Toro has recently announced that he is still waiting to sign a deal with New Line Cinema before starting production on The Hobbit nor The Hobbit Sequel. According to Empire Online, "I wish it was definite, but it isn't," del Toro said. "It's still in talks, there are still a lot of 'T's to cross and 'I's to dot. It's certainly not certain yet...But, as far as I'm concerned, [if it was definite] I would be packed in ten seconds."

Del Toro isn't worried about the lawsuit that was reported earlier this week between the Tolkien estate and New Line Cinema, which could lose the studio the rights to the popular novels. "I heard that, but I'm quite zen about those things," del Toro continued. "Since that news broke, I have not exchanged a single phone call with my lawyer or my manager or anyone. They talk about it and I have received some emails, but, as far as I'm concerned, until I'm on board I should not worry about it. I read about it, but there's nothing I can do about it. This week seems to be the lawsuit week in Hollywood."

New Line Cinema has not announced when they plan to start production on The Hobbit nor The Hobbit Sequel.