Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro has decided not to direct an upcoming adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien‘s beloved novel, The Hobbit.

Here’s Del Toro’s statement at OneRing.net: “In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming The Hobbit, I am faced with the hardest decision of my life … 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 (pictured) directed the live-action adaptation Hellboy and the award winning Pan’s Labyrinth. He was also the co-author of the vampire novel, The Strain.