Just when you thought it was safe to assume that Peter Jackson was returning to the Lord of the Rings franchise to complete what he started by helming the two Hobbit movies, the man himself has kinda-sorta come forward to put the brakes on things and quiet down fans who assumed Deadline’s earlier report about him being in negotiations to direct was correct.

Peter Jackson and 'The Hobbit'In fact, according to Jackson – who spoke with AICN under the name “Derek” – he hasn’t signed on to direct and doesn’t seem all that close to signing on either. He says, “No, nothing has really changed - I've always said that me directing was one option, and so that's not really news. The studio are working out what that deal would look like, because how else do they know if it's a viable option? But it's honestly one of several different options - many irons are in the fire right now. What's of great concern to everyone right now is trying to stay on schedule and not slip back another year, because we will start losing people - and that's increasingly difficult as each day passes. A lot of people - both film makers and studios are working very hard right now, trying to get a positive outcome here."

So it sounds like the studio is working on putting together a deal to present to Jackson, who readily admits that his signing on is just one of many options still on the table. And, also, it seems like Jackson might be pushed into a corner where he has no choice but to direct since they’ll be forced to delay the project another year and lose cast members, as well as production crew.
 
What it all means is this: don’t count on Peter Jackson directing The Hobbit just yet. Will he wind up as the director eventually? I think so. Expect an announcement to come during Comic-Con and no sooner.
 
If Jackson doesn’t direct, who should?