According to a recent interview with the New York Times, New Line chairman, Robert Shaye is looking to move forward on The Hobbit - even without Peter Jackson.
He mentioned the studio will shoot for a 2009 release for the prequel to The Lord Of The Rings. And possibly Sam Raimi will be taking over the reigns, notes the article:
And he would not comment on reports in the news media that the Spider-Man director Sam Raimi had been asked to direct The Hobbit. He said, however, that although there was no workable script yet for the film, he intended to release it in 2009.
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