well that is welcome news 
I have to say I'm not sure it is, actually. I am reserved about joining the "isn't this wonderful" camp and I am more sceptical about what these films will actually be. Mainly,
The Hobbit is not two films, and most reports talk about "The Hobbit and its sequel" and I am worried that they're going to invent whole stories for film. Furthermore, there may also be an irritating desire to place certain people in
The Hobbit who didn't necessarily play much of a role in the book, e.g. Legolas, Gimli, Galadriel, Aragorn, Saruman, the Nazgul, etc.