A legal dispute between Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema turned sour when Jackson announced he would not direct the prequel to the mega successful trilogy.

In a statement made on TheOneRing.net, Jackson declared the ongoing accounting and legal dispute from the first Rings films has compelled him and fellow producer Fran Walsh to take different directions.

“This outcome is not what we anticipated or wanted, but neither do we see any positive value in bitterness or rancor. We now have no choice but to let the idea of a film of ‘The Hobbit’ go and move forward with other projects.”

Jackson refused to talk with New Line about directing the 1937 JRR Tolkien classic unless a gap was bridged.

But New Line Cinema responded saying limited time prevents them from a clear-cut settlement and the show must go on…with a different director.

Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy generated nearly $3 billion at box offices worldwide.






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