Spotted in SCI FI Wire:

Guillermo del Toro, who will direct two Lord of the Rings prequel films, told reporters that the first will stick to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit but the second will take in a wide range of materials from the Tolkien universe.

I don't take that as a good sign. Whenever a director starts talking about "expanding the story", it's time to get ready for large amounts of "creative license".