LOS ANGELES ~ Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson will co-write the screenplays for the two-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, it was reported on Wednesday.

Jackson, who will act as executive producer on the eagerly awaited blockbusters due to be filmed in 2010, will be reunited with his writing partners from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.

Guillermo Del Toro, who is to direct the films, will also co-write the script, entertainment industry press reported.

Del Toro was confirmed as director earlier this year after the project was given the go-ahead when Jackson and Hollywood studio New Line ended a lengthy quarrel over dividends from the Lord of the Rings series.

The Hobbit is set in Middle Earth and is a prelude to the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The book tells the story of how the hobbit Bilbo Baggins sets off on a quest accompanied by 13 dwarves and Gandalf the wizard to confront a dragon.