With the news that production delays have forced director Guillermo del Toro to quit the planned film version of "The Hobbit” leading European betting organization Paddy Power are taking bets on who will eventually direct J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings prequel.
Paddy Power make Sir Peter Jackson their 5/4 favorite to step into the breach and reprise his Middle-earth directing duties.
X-Men: The Last Stand director Brett Ratner is the 4/1 second favorite and it seems a u-turn by del Toro is not out of the question as the 44-year old Mexican director is the bookie’s 5/1 third favorite.
Other names in the frame include JJ Abrams (7/1), Tim Burton (20/1) and Quentin Tarantino at a seemingly unlikely 50/1. Paddy Power are also taking bets of when The Hobbit will eventually be released theatrically and make the first six months of 2013 their even-money favorite.
Ken Robertson, spokesman from Paddy Power, said “Its seems The Hobbit is now a ship afloat without a captain and our betting suggests that it won’t be long before Peter Jackson takes the helm”
Director of The Hobbit
5/4 Sir Peter Jackson
4/1 Brett Ratner
5/1 Guillermo del Toro
7/1 JJ Abrams
10/1 Christopher Nolan
12/1 Ridley Scott
16/1 Ron Howard
20/1 Tim Burton
25/1 Steven Spielberg
33/1 James Cameron
33/1 Kathryn Bigelow
40/1 Guy Ritchie
50/1 Martin Scorsese
50/1 Quentin Tarantino
80/1 Woody Allen
100/1 George Lucas
200/1 Michael Moore
Tagged in The Hobbit Peter Jackson