[fallintothis]

I must be out of the loop, but I was surprised to read that Guillermo del Toro was going to be directing this one. Peter Jackson is still closely involved, it seems: http://derhobbit-film.de/facts.shtml

I wonder how much the different director will influence the movie.

[TrevorJ]

del Toro has a very unique aesthetic. I would imagine that the creature designs may depart a bit from the world created in the first three films. It will be interesting to see if del Toro will choose to follow the realism approach to the art direction in the first three movies or if he will choose to pursue his more fantastical visions in the art direction.

[tvon]

He did Hellboy I/II which had fairly exotic creatures but nothing too far (visually) from the LOtR trilogy. I generally love his work and am looking forward to seeing what he does with The Hobbit.

[TrevorJ]

No, definitely not far from the Tolkien lore at all, it's just that Jackson studiously avoided moving into a fantasy aesthetic in favor of (fairly) realistic designs that would at least work in the real world. With success of the previous films, del Toro may have more room to push the envelope without being as concerned about losing audience. Jackson was wary about pushing the high fantasy because of concerns about losing audience.