Fantasy fans, rejoice.  “The Hobbit,” a two part prequel to “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy based on J.R.R. Tokien’s celebrated novel will finally become a reality.

The Wrap reported this morning that the embattled franchise finally received its greenlight from co-producing studios, Warner Bros. and MGM, and soon thereafter the NY Times reported that Peter Jackson’s deal to direct the films was just finalized.

The project has been in limbo for some time now thanks to the financial woes besetting MGM, who owns half of the property (WB’s New Line Cinema owns the other half).   A deal was recently finally reached between the studios to finance the surely moneymaking project giving fanboys everywhere reason to celebrate.

Sets in New Zealand have already been built and are ready to go, and actors like Sir Ian McKellan who plays the wizard Gandalf have been waiting patiently for months while the nitty-gritty of the business end of Hollywood was being sorted out regarding the $400 million production.

As it stands today, production will begin in February with the first film scheduled to hit theaters Dec. 19, 2012.

Still, “The Hobbit” isn’t out of the woods yet.  Labor issues surrounding the production on whether Screen Actors Guild members will be used in the film or not is a serious and potentially fatal problem that has yet to be resolved.