Peter Jackon to Co-Write "The Hobbit"

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Peter Jackson will co-write the screenplay for The Hobbit.

Jackson, who produced and directed the Lord of the Rings trilogy, is executive producer on the new Tolkien adaptation, which is due out in 2011.

Jackson had already handed over the director's reigns to Pan's Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro.

After an unsuccessful eight-month search for a scribe, the pair decided to adapt the novel themselves.

In addition to Jackson and del Toro, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, who worked with Jackson on Lord of the Rings, have also joined the writing team.

The Hobbit, which was written by J. R. R. Tolkien, years before Lord of the Rings, follows the life of a young Bilbo Baggins on his journey to kill a dragon, accompanied by the wizard Gandalf.

The film version will be split into two parts.

In the manner of Lord of the Rings, both films will be shot simultaneously and released over consecutive years.