Slash Film is reporting that David Yates MAY be the new director for ‘The Hobbit’.

I’ve been seeing on a few industry insider tracking boards that David Yates is supposedly the studios top choice to direct The Hobbit. Note: we have no real confirmation of any talks taking place, so for now take it all as purely rumor.

Yates is best known as the director of the last few Harry Potter films: Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince, and Part I and II of the Deathly Hallows. As you know, Guillermo del Toro recently stepped down from directing the big screen adaptation, but would continue to collaborate with Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens on the Hobbit screenplays until they are finished.

Yates definitely knows how to handle the stress of adapting a highly anticipated big screen fantasy adaptation with epic-sized special effects and has an established relationship with Warner Bros.

I would be SO excited if he does it!