It was only earlier this week that we heard Master and Commander director Peter Weir might be in the running with Sam Raimi to direct New Line’s Peter Jacksonless version of “The Hobbit”. But it seems Weir is just one of a big list of names New Line has going, a list full of directors they’re planning on begging to steal the reigns of their mega-franchise away from Jackson.

AICN has the scoop on the other names New Line is considering… and they’re all considerably less good than Raimi and Weir. If you’re a Tolkien fan, this list may give you nightmares. Consider reading no further.

Still with me? Then here are the directors rumored to be on New Line Cinema’s short list to helm The Hobbit: Stephen Sommers, Michael Bay, Brad Silberling, Bill Condon.

I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky that Paul W.S. Anderson isn’t on it. Every one of those names is a potentially horrible choice, all for completely different reasons. Bill Condon is a great director but I just can’t imagine him directing a big-budget fantasy movie. Stephen Sommers is a decent action director, but shouldn’t be trusted with anything more complicated than a Mummy movie. Michael Bay is the mother fucking anti-christ and shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near this movie. He is the franchise destroyer, the dream killer, and his version of The Hobbit would probably involve finding some way to get Bilbo in the cockpit of a fighter jet to blow up Iraqi terrorist cells.

Actually the only name on that list that doesn’t give me a case of the cold chills is Brad Silberling, who to most of you is almost a total unknown. He most recently directed Lemony Snicket, which shows he has some experience in the fantasy genre and knows a thing or two about big budget visual flair. He’s worked in TV a lot, but he also directed Casper. He wouldn’t be my first choice, but of the Tolkien books The Hobbit is definitely the most family friendly and if they choose to go that route he might be able to handle it without completely destroying the material.

Let’s face it though. There’s only one man who should be directing this movie, and his name is Peter Jackson. If New Line Cinema hires Michael Bay, they’d better be prepared for a complete boycott of every movie the studio makes for the next two decades by Tolkien fans. Seriously, it’s one thing to let the guy ruin Transformers, but it’s quite another to let him take a big dump all over Lord of the Rings. If there was any doubt before that the execs and New Line had totally lost their mind, the inclusion of Michael Bay on this list should erase it. Let’s hope this rumor doesn’t pan out.

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Michael-Bay-To-Direct-The-Hobbit-5169.html