The Hobbit Movie LogoA few days ago, we reported here that Peter Jackson has indicated filming for The Hobbit will be delayed to mid-2010. Doing the math on how long it took to film The Lord of the Rings movies was sobering with respect to achieving a 2011 release, but we found reason to be optimistic in the fact that many sets, set designs, etc. won’t have to be created from scratch. Today, however, we’ve been alerted to more sobering news on the release from the WaxWord blog over at thewrap.com:

“Executives close to the project said that Warner Brothers is now likely to release the first film at the end of 2012, and not at the end of 2011 as had been hoped for by the fans. The second part would be pushed to 2013.”

No need to lose hope for a 2011 release yet though. The article also quoted PJ as saying a final decision about the release dates won’t be made until the screenplays, budget and schedule are complete. More than ever, all eyes are on Guillermo, Peter, Fran, Phillipa and the studio.