Hasn't this been discussed on here before, mebee more than once?
Sure has! I recall this subject here from several years ago. Peter Jackson has been tinkering with this project for a long time. He wants to recreate a lot of it using CGI, so I guess the longer he waits, the better and more affordable some of that technology becomes.
Interestingly, I see that the name 'Digger' is being suggested. I recall that 'Trigger' was being bandied about a few years back. Revisionist history, eh? I can understand why 'African-American' wouldn't work .......