The production situation for Guillermo del Toro’s two-part The Hobbit adaptation has become clearer in the last week, as it appears that various media and online reports relied too much on casual comments made over the last year by del Toro and executive producer Peter Jackson, rather than official announcements by New Line Cinema.
Tolkien movie fans were dismayed to learn this week that production on the two-part The Hobbit feature film will not begin in March 2010, as was previously announced. Producer Peter Jackson told a German film site that principal photography on the Lord of the Rings prequel will not begin until mid-2010 at the earliest.
John Rhys-Davies, who portrayed Gimli son of Glóin in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, has turned down an offer to appear in the two-part film adaptation of The Hobbit.
“I’ve already been asked and to be honest with you, I wouldn’t [appear]. I have already completely ruled it out.”
Bilbo Baggins seems to have used his Halfling Improved Evasion feat to dodge another threat to his feature film return. Motion picture studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has, at least temporarily, staved off a bankruptcy that might have derailed plans for the two-part, Peter Jackson-produced adaptation of The Hobbit scheduled to begin production next year.
Director Guillermo del Toro has confirmed, in an interview with BBC Radio 5, that Sir Ian McKellen will reprise the role of Gandalf in the upcoming two-part film version of The Hobbit. Del Toro also revealed that Hugo Weaving will return as Elrond Half-elven, and Andy Serkis will once again provide the voice and movements for the computer-generated character Gollum.
Will the Tenth Doctor play Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit? Multiple online and mainstream press sources, particularly the UK’s Telegraph, are speculating that Doctor Who star David Tennant has been tapped to portray a younger Bilbo Baggins in Guillermo del Toro’s two-part film adaptation of The Hobbit.
A two-part film adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s beloved children’s novel, The Hobbit, is slated for release in December 2011 and December 2012. The films will be directed by Guillermo del Toro, with Peter Jackson acting as executive producer and co-writer.
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