The Hobbit - The Current Facts

Comic-Con'09 has been and gone, and we've learnt essentially nothing, except that we need to forget what we we thought we already knew. I think it's time for a round-up of the most current versions of the "truths" out there. (read : most up to date rumours)


Studio

• NewLine Cinema
• Warner Brothers

Executive Producer

• Peter Jackson
• Fran Walsh
  

Scriptwriters

• Peter Jackson
• Fran Walsh
• Philippa Boyens
• Guillermo del Toro

Director

• Peter Jackson
• Guillermo del Toro

Design/Sfx/Middle-earth creators

• Richard Taylor
• Alan Lee
• John Howe
• Mike Mignola
• Wayne Barlowe
• Oscar Chichone
• Francisco Ruiz Velasco
• Weta Workshop/Digital
• Spectral Motion
  

Composer

• Howard Shore

Bilbo Baggins

• Sir Ian Holm
• Daniel Radcliffe
• James McAvoy
• Currently favoured rumour : David Tennant ?
• Other online suggestion : Martin Freeman
  

The Narrator

• Sir Ian Holm

Gandalf

• Sir Ian McKellen

Gollum

• Andy Serkis

Saruman(*)

• Sir Christopher Lee

Elrond

• Hugo Weaving
  

Beorn(**)

• Ron Perlman

King Thranduil(**)

• Doug Jones

Bard of Laketown(**)

• Luke Goss
  

Sets to be reused from LOTR

• Hobbiton

Contents of movies

• Movie 1=The Hobbit, Movie 2=bridge between Hobbit and LOTR
• Movie 1=The Hobbit part 1, Movie 2=The Hobbit part 2

Release Dates for the two movies

• 2009, 2010
  
• 2010, 2011
• 2011, 2012
• Dec 2011, Dec 2012
  

(*) Christopher Lee (excuse me; SIR Christopher Lee!) has indicated about a year ago that he probably won't take part in The Hobbit since his advancing age would prevent him from returning to New Zealand for it, but he would love to do voice work (and suggested Smaug the Magnificent!).

However, when he was awarded his knighthood a few months ago, he couldn't immediately be contacted for comment, since he was filming in New Mexico! So travel doesn't seem to worry him too much yet (I mean, he's only 89!), and I'm sincerely hoping this would extend to reprising his role as Saruman.

(**) Regarding Beorn, King Thranduil and Bard of Laketown, they seem the most likely choices for the three del Toro regulars. Guillermo has indicated they are very likely to be used. Edit: I missed this snippet, but it looks like MTV interviewed Doug Jones, and he'd love to be the elven king as well. Luke Goss is a good friend of GDT as well, and for those who don't remember him, he's already played an elf in Hellboy 2, so I'm guessing he may not want to get typecast, but then again who knows? Perlman, Jones and Goss were all in a different MTV interview at Comic Con'08, where they're basically grovelling to get a Hobbit role.


How accurate is all this? Not very, in all likelihood. Nobody has been confirmed, and even a confirmation isn't a certainty (ask Stuart Townsend how his confirmed Aragorn role went).

I'm heard a lovely line somewhere that I'm fond of repeating - "nothing is certain until you're sitting in the cinema watching the movie. And even then, things can change afterwards (eg, extended versions may come out nine months later which may change things again completely)"


Drop me a line if I've missed anything else we already know. I'll keep this page updated as we discover more, so you can link to here directly.

- Jack M.