The acclaimed fantasy director can't wait out MGM's indecision any longer...

News from New Zealand and MGM Studios reports that Guillermo del Toro, frustrated by MGM’s financial struggles and red tape, has officially stepped down as director for the upcoming 2-part adaptation of the wildly popular J.R.R. Tolkien novel.

The successful crafter of the two Hellboy films, Pan’s Labyrinth, and Blade II will stay on as screenplay co-writer with Executive Producer Peter Jackson and co-writers Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyens. His press release stated, in part, "After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien's Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures.”

Del Toro hinted at his frustration with MGM Studios in an interview last week, citing that he had spent two years working on the script, creature design, and storyboards, but had yet to have been given an official ‘green light’ from MGM for the Hobbit feature films. The floundering studio also has rights to the James Bond franchise, which is also currently in limbo as MGM tries to sort out its financial difficulties.

In an interview with TheOneRing.net, Peter Jackson wished del Toro well in his next directing endeavor, which has yet to be announced, saying that the Hellboy helmsman had signed on for a three-year commitment to the Hobbit films, which had since ballooned into a possible six-year commitment due to MGM’s uncertain future, something that would interfere with other del Toro projects.

Jackson said that the search for a new director would begin immediately and that pre-production on the Hobbit will continue without delay.

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