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Just after Guillermo Del Toro exited the director’s chair of The Hobbit, we took to the streets with our own list of 7 Directors Who Should Take Over. Among them was Peter Jackson — writer, producer and gatekeeper of all things Lord of the Rings. He is perhaps the easiest choice to take the reigns, having been on the project from day one co-writing the script with Del Toro. In fact, Jackson stepping up might be one of the only sure-fire ways to give fans what they want — a pair of actual Hobbit movies.

It seems as if we’re not alone in this logic. According to Deadline, execs at both Warner Bros. and MGM are trying desperately to put Jackson back into his Middle Earth comfort zone, where he once delivered a trilogy of films that grossed almost $3 billion dollars worldwide. It would give Jackson a chance to once again play to his strengths as a filmmaker (something he failed to do with The Lovely Bones) and would be easy. He can just run out into his back yard and shoot the damn thing. He’s already in New Zealand, anyway.

If Jackson doesn’t take the gig, there seems to be a line of questionable characters still in the plan B mix for WB and MGM. This list includes Harry Potter vet David Yates, who /Film reported was being looked at earlier this week. There are also — according to Deadline — eyes on David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers) and Brett Ratner (Everything you hate). Neither of these seem like viable choices for a film that will require the ability to bring character and story to the forefront of a grand scale. Yates would be a sensible choice, but he’s no Peter Jackson.

The fact is that only Peter Jackson is Peter Jackson. And no one — not even Guillermo Del Toro — has a grasp on the writings of Tolkien like Peter Jackson. And while Guillermo Del Toro would have brought a lot of imagination and unique visual ideas to the project, it wouldn’t have been what Jackson might deliver. And my guess is that fans would love to see what Peter Jackson might deliver. The fans know it, we know it, and apparently the studios know it. Now all that’s left is for Peter Jackson to come around. And if my spider-sense is correct, the only way for The Hobbit to ever see the light of day is for Peter Jackson to come around.