Del Toro tipped for 'The Hobbit' role

Guillermo del Toro has begun talks over directing the Hobbit movies, say reports.

The films, which will be based on JRR Tolkien's novel, are prequels to the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson has already been confirmed as the executive producer of the project.

The Hobbit will be split into two films, with the first re-creating Tolkien's popular children's story and the second filling in the 80-year gap until the start of Lord of the Rings.

Shooting is scheduled to begin in 2009 with possible release dates for the two movies in 2010 and 2011.