The Hobbit Trilogy Discussion Thread

[Diesel]

BREAKING: While Peter Jackson and Warner Bros are figuring out where they'll shoot back-to-back installments of The Hobbit, Jackson and his partner Fran Walsh have begun to set his cast for the ambitious projects that will begin shooting in February for release in December 2012 and 2013. The castings were announced by New Line Cinema COO/president Toby Emmerich, Warner Bros COO/president Alan Horn, MGM co-CEO Steve Cooper, and Jackson. As Deadline told you last week, Martin Freeman is set to play Bilbo Baggins, the adventurous Hobbit whose adventures and discovery of the One Ring leads the story up to The Lord of the Rings. Freeman has appeared in films ranging from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Hot Fuzz to Love Actually.

Jackson has cast several other significant Dwarf characters.

Richard Armitage (MI-5 and Captain America: The First Avenger) will play Thorin Oakenshield, leader of the Company of Dwarves which sets off to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from a thieving dragon.

Aidan Turner (Being Human) and Rob Kazinsky (EastEnders) will play Kili and Fili, members of the Company of Dwarves.

Graham McTavish (Secretariat) will play Dwalin,

John Callen (Power Rangers Jungle Fury) will play Oin;

Stephen Hunter (All Saints) will play Bombur,

and Mark Hadlow (King Kong) plays Dori,

while Peter Hambleton (The Strip) will play Gloin.

That casting has just beginning, and there will be many more opportunities for the kind of career-changing roles that went in the original trilogy to the likes of Orlando Bloom, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Elijah Wood and Sean Astin. None of this is set, but I've heard that James Nesbitt and David Tennant are up for roles, and that Ian McKellan and Andy Serkis are expected to reprise Gandalf and Gollum, though I don't believe they have made deals. Stephen Fry, Saoirse Ronan and Bill Nighy (as the voice of the dragon Smaug) are possible participants, and Aiden Turner is in contention for the Elf King.

"Despite the various rumours and speculation surround this role, there has only ever been one Bilbo Baggins for us," Peter Jackson said. There are a few times in your career when you come across an actor who you know was born to play a role, but that was the case as soon as I met Martin. He is intelligent, funny, surprising and brave -- exactly like Bilbo and I feel incredibly proud to be able to announce that he is our Hobbit."

Of Armtage, Jackson said: "Richard is one of the most exciting and dynamic actors working on screen today and we know he is going to make an amazing Thorin Oakenshield. We cannot wait to start this adventure with him and feel very lucky that one of the most beloved characters in Middle Earth is in such good hands."

On his choices of Turner and Kazinsky, Jackson said, "Rob is an extremely talented young actor with a huge career in front of him. I'm thrilled that he has agreed to take on the role of Fili. Besides his talent as an actor, Rob is also a champion sword fighter and I'm looking forward to seeing the damage he can do to a horde of marauding Goblins ... Aidan is a wonderfully gifted young actor who hails from Ireland. I'm sure he will bring enormous heart and humor to the role of Kili."

As for the rest of the Dwarves played by McTavish, Callen, Hunter, Hadlow and Hambleton, Jackson said: "Graham is a terrific actor, with a great depth of experience, which I know he will bring to the role of Dwalin. I have worked with Mark Hadlow on many projects, he is a fantastic actor...I am also proud to annouce the casting of New Zealand actors as Peter Hambleton, John Callen and Stephen Hunter. Fran and I know that they will bring great depth and talent to our Company of Dwarves."

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The only thing I've seen Armitage in is Robin Hood from the BBC, but he was pretty good in that, and he did a miniseries called North and South that I have yet to check out and I hear he did good in that as well.

[Offender_Mullet]

I hope Mark Wahlberg gets cast. Only then will these 2 movies be a true classic piece of cinema.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by Offender_Mullet

I hope Mark Wahlberg gets cast. Only then will these 2 movies be a true classic piece of cinema.

Don't forget Vin Diesel

[Show spoiler]

[ts0323]

I'm not quite sure how well Armitage would work, but who knows.

Freeman looks perfect for Bilbo.

[Grand Bob]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Don't forget Vin Diesel

[Show spoiler]

I think Vin Diesel would play a better Thorin Oakenshield than Armitage. As for the other 12 dwarves, only a few of them are featured in the book, namely Balin, Kili, Fili, Bombur, and Dori

[Show spoiler](whose main role is to carry Bilbo around in the goblin tunnels and hoist him up the tree in the warg glade, not exactly a star-material part).

Strangely, Oin has a more prominent role in Lord of the Rings, where he finds the West Gate of Moria (after the return of Balin and the Dwarf colony) and is killed by the Watcher in the Water.

[mjbethancourt]

Originally Posted by SonOfTorah

Bilbo Baggins. Sod 'master of the morose' martin freeman, give the role to someone who can play more than one emotion

Why do you keep saying that? I don't understand what the basis is for that unfair typecasting.

[Walts Ghost]

Originally Posted by ts0323

I'm not quite sure how well Armitage would work, but who knows.

Freeman looks perfect for Bilbo.

Armitage was really good in the Robin Hood series he did on BBC as Guy of Gisborne, I'm glad to see him moving up to a role in a big movie like this! Hopefully he'll get more well known and get more roles out of it

And I agree, Freeman is perfect for Bilbo, glad he got the role

[avecha]

Whose gonna get it, us or you guys?

Did all this crap start with Robyn Malcolm?

[ts0323]

I've seen Armitage on North and South, and he was great on that.
I just can't see him as a dwarf.

[radagast]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Don't forget Vin Diesel

[Show spoiler]

As Beorn? I thought he would have been a good voice of Smaug.

[Witch King of Angmar]

Will necromancer(sauron) appear in the movies?



Btw who is older? Sauron or Gandalf?

[Josh]

Is there any site that has put the actor's pictures up next to their animated versions?

[Grand Bob]

Originally Posted by Witch King of Angmar

Will necromancer(sauron) appear in the movies?



Btw who is older? Sauron or Gandalf?

It is almost certain that Sauron will be in the movie(s). Since both Sauron and Gandalf are Ainur, they existed before the creation of Ea (physical creation), therefore we do not know exactly how old they are; however, I think we can agree they are "really old".

[Darkhawk9587]

Originally Posted by Diesel

Link


The only thing I've seen Armitage in is Robin Hood from the BBC, but he was pretty good in that, and he did a miniseries called North and South that I have yet to check out and I hear he did good in that as well.

Glad there's finally a cast set. I like the choice of Freeman as Bilbo. Can't wait to get news and pics when this starts to film.

[toddly6666]

Isn't Jon Hamm doing the motion capture and voice of the dragon?

I think it's very ballsy for them to cast Freeman as Bilbo!

[Josh]

Originally Posted by toddly6666

Isn't Jon Hamm doing the motion capture and voice of the dragon?

I think it's very ballsy for them to cast Freeman as Bilbo!

Wrong Freeman!

[Walts Ghost]

Originally Posted by Darkhawk9587

Glad there's finally a cast set. I like the choice of Freeman as Bilbo. Can't wait to get news and pics when this starts to film.

Me too! Hopefully this turns out to be a perfect series of five movies with LOTR

[MorgolKing]

I didn't see anyone mention this yet, but is anyone else besides me kinda hoping the Hobbit gets moved to the UK so Christopher Lee can reprise his role as Saruman?

I can't think of a better place to shoot the Hobbit than New Zealand, and the perfect situation would involve Christopher Lee shooting in New Zealand again. But, he's already said he's too old to fly to New Zealand.

Maybe they can shoot him on the green screen or something while filming the movie in New Zealand. Either way, if the movie does get moved, I hope it's to UK to up the chances of us seeing the original Saruman again.

[Bageara]

Originally Posted by MorgolKing

I didn't see anyone mention this yet, but is anyone else besides me kinda hoping the Hobbit gets moved to the UK so Christopher Lee can reprise his role as Saruman?

I can't think of a better place to shoot the Hobbit than New Zealand, and the perfect situation would involve Christopher Lee shooting in New Zealand again. But, he's already said he's too old to fly to New Zealand.

Maybe they can shoot him on the green screen or something while filming the movie in New Zealand. Either way, if the movie does get moved, I hope it's to UK to up the chances of us seeing the original Saruman again.

Saruman is in the Hobbit movie? Hes not in the book is he?

[zombie63]

Sylvester McCoy has just confirmed he will play Radagast the brown.