Hobbit director Peter Jackson says he has never read a comic in his life and has no plans for a superhero movie.

He made the revelation at Comic-Con in San Diego, where he showed 12 minutes of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and got a standing ovation.

This summer's film offerings have included the high-profile returns of Batman and Spider-Man, as well as a gathering of heroes in The Avengers.

Even so, Jackson feels no pressure: "We've got to make films that get kids off their iPads and away from their home entertainment systems and back into the cinemas again.

"So I think anything that can stimulate a return to the cinema is a good thing, no matter what the genre is."

Jackson's Hobbit, which stars Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, was shot all at once but will be released in two parts, the first of which is out in December 2012.