MovieLine: How important is it for The Hobbit to have a director? Apparently, not very! Despite the fact that Guillermo del Toro fled the director’s chair and Peter Jackson doesn’t want the gig, the film has still been auditioning actors in Los Angeles like nothing’s the matter.
I don't like the phrasing that Del Toro fled. It's not like it was something he wanted to do, he had contractual obligations he kept pushing back to stay on this film, but with no start date in sight, he could no longer remain on board. That and Jackson has said he'll do it if he has to.
To be fair the sets for the Shire were never taken down from the filming of the LotR trilogy. They kept them intact as tourist attractions. They merely revamped them to prepare for more filming.