Earlier this week, it was reported by The Guardian that director Guillermo del Toro and producer Peter Jackson‘s The Hobbit might be staring at yet another lawsuit involving the family of author J.R.R. Tolkien. Unlike that whole mess with Watchmen that had us a little scared we may never see it, this lawsuit sounds like it’s actually legit. And if Fox can win out with a weak case, then some money is going to have to be dropped in order to ever see this movie.

When Tolkien sold the rights to his works in 1969 for £250,000, there was also an agreement that he also be given 7.5% of any profits made. Considering The Lord of the Rings trilogy took in around $6 Billion worldwide, the family is owed around $220 Million — none of which they have been paid yet. This gives the family a pretty strong case, and means that if New Line doesn’t figure something out soon, The Hobbit may just not happen at all.

Apparently this isn’t stopping the crew from getting the ball rolling though, as some new images of the start of construction have been released online.

Click on over to see the images.

These little peeks are about as early as images come, but thankfully, they also tote a little nostalgia with them. The pictures are of construction on our favorite little Hobbit village in the Shire: Hobbiton. If you aren’t aware, the little hill-shaped homes were built on a farmer’s land in New Zealand, and he was able to keep them after — you can (or could) even take a tour of this perfect fantasy-lover’s destination.

Obviously it’s a little absurd for production to completely halt due to these legal matters. Hopefully things will get worked out as soon as humanly possible so there’s nothing we have to worry about. If New Line owes these people $220 Million of their $6 Billion, then they need to man-up, write a check, and move on.

Click the images to go large and head over to The One Ring to see a couple more!

Images

[Source: via /Film, Collider]