In a post on TORn, Guillermo Del Toro, the director for the pair of upcoming Hobbit films talks about what is currently holding back the development. He states that the discussions regarding possibly making the Hobbit in 3D are not the cause of the delays. However he stated actor deals could net be closed without a greenlight  for the movies and that cannot be given with MGM currently up for auction.

But know these facts:

-NO delays have been caused by “discussing” or “adapting” 3-D.
-Can’t close deals with actors without a green light.
-Can’t give a green light to the project when one of the studios is going through a “to be or not to be” auction moment.

For good or bad this project has demanded for so much to be solved before it gets going. So, the Phil Connors syndrome is met with great empathy.

Best
GDT