After he signed on to direct in April 2008, Del Toro posted on TheOneRing.net forums that he had been enchanted by The Hobbit as a child, but found that Tolkien's other books "contain geography and genealogy too complex for my prepubescent brain".
Efter att ha skrivit på kontraktet om att regissera filmerna i april 2008, publicerade han på TheOneRing.nets forum att han som barn hade blivit förtrollad av Hobbiten, men fann dock att Tolkiens övriga böcker "contain geography and genealogy too complex for my prepubescent brain".