Gandalf (Ian McKellen) returns to help the dwindling members of the Fellowship in THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS
© 2002 Pierre Vinet/New Line Productions
HOBBIT Enters Pre-Production with Returning Cast
By: Jarrod SarafinDate: Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Source: Variety
It looks like the long wait for little Hobbit production is over, Lotr fans. Variety is reporting that preproduction is set to begin with "Team Hobbit" (Guillermo Del Toro, Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh) starting on the scripting of Hobbit: Part I and the sequel in the next few days. Previous reports confirmed that Del Toro would get to work on the script alongside the original creators of the Lord of the Rings trilogy when he was entering the last days before Hellboy II: The Golden Army hits theaters.
On another note, the team has already been in contact with certain actors whose characters are planned for the overall story. Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Ian McKellen (Gandalf) and Andy Serkis (Gollum). Those are the ones confirmed by the trade. If the plan is to split the films and have the timeline explained to the beginning of the original trilogy, it's likely that Hugo Weaving (Elrond), Christopher Lee (Saruman), Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) and some other former stars will also be invited back if they wish it. Del toro confirms below.
"We will all be involved in the script in some fashion but the exact definition is about a week away, " said del Toro. "I am all for keeping the actors who originated the parts, as much as availability and their willingness will allow."
The Hobbit: Part I will hit theaters sometime in winter 2010 while Part II will hit theaters in winter 2011.
