Christopher Tolkien, son of the late JRR Tolkien, wants Guilermo Del Toro to halt production on his planned prequels The Hobbit and The Hobbit Sequel. According to Times Online, Christopher, who is 83 years old, is asking for "one last crusade" in a long running court battle against the producers of the New Line The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy.

Tolkien's claim is that he is owed more than $80 million by New Line Cinemas from a deal that was signed in 1969. At that time, Christopher reluctantly sold the rights to his father's work to pay off a looming tax bill. The news of Tolkien's plans to thwart production on The Hobbit comes on the same day that both Sir Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis will confirm their return to the franchise.

On June 6th, Christopher Tolkien will ask a Californian judge to back his claim that he can "terminate" film rights to The Hobbit.