Guillermo Del Toro on The Hobbit

Updated 11.45 Sun Aug 24 2008

Keywords: tolkein, rings, lord, peter jackson, hobbit, Guillermo del Toro

Director Guillermo Del Toro has shared his thoughts on the Lord of the Rings prequel The Hobbit.

Del Toro said: "I am very excited, very nervous. It is very daunting. I think it is a responsibility. It is like being handed the keys to the nuclear button."

"I am very excited, very nervous. It is very daunting. I think it is a responsibility. It is like being handed the keys to the nuclear button" - Del Toro

He hopes that he will be working closely with the director Peter Jackson: "I always try to work closely with the producer. I try to have limits creatively so I can define my sandbox.

The Hellboy director added: "So far my discussions with Peter have been very successful in that sense. He knows I care for the world he created. I will have to transform it to a degree to make it my own."

The Hobbit has been planned as two films with filming scheduled for autumn of 2009 in New Zealand.

The films are expected to will in cinemas for Christmas 2011 and 2012.