With production on the two Hobbit movies set to begin later this year, the question of 3D has inevitably reared its head.

As The One Ring reports, when the suggestion of making the films in 3D was first raised back in the summer of last year, they were quickly nixed by director Guillermo del Toro. He, and given that he's co-written the script too he should know, was adamant that the films were not being written with 3D in mind.

But then Avatar happened. And given just how much money James Cameron's opus has made from 3D screenings alone, it's understandable that most filmmakers are having to deal with the 3D question now. Guillermo del Toro, it appears, is no different.

In a post on the forums at the aforementioned The One Ring, del Toro has revealed the following:

"I wouldn't read much on it just yet, but now, after all this time, after AVATAR doing the Box Office it did, we have had [enquiries] from above about The Hobbit being in 3-D.

No impositions or heavy leaning. Just [enquiries]. Just fulfilling my promise to let you all know if discussions ever started."

You can read the post here.

The status of the films in terms of release date is still unclear, and if the decision was made to go into 3D with them, then it will all but confirm the delay to Christmas 2012 for the first of the two movies. The current plan is to have The Hobbit Part I in cinemas for the end of 2011, but that's looking decreasingly likely from where we're sitting.