Since Guillermo del Toro will not direct The Hobbit, soon will be announcing a new director. Will David Yates picked?

From LeakyNews:

Harry Potter director David Yates possibly being in the running to take over the production of the film, “The Hobbit.”

Actor Matthew Goode, known as Ozymandias in Watchmen, has let slip that he auditioned for the role of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit!

But just before we met, he’d auditioned for the role of Bilbo Baggins in Guillermo del Toro’s two-part film of The Hobbit. As he is the first to admit, he’s not an obvious choice – ‘Look at the size of me for Christ’s sake!’ If he got the part, he would, he says, find it almost impossible to refuse – despite the fact that it would involve him spending several months in New Zealand.

We are still waiting for official confirmation, but this indicates that at least the work is in progress for The Hobbit

Previously, Jackson and Del Toro had confirmed that The Hobbit would have a December 2011 release date, but unfortunately Variety has informed that Alan Horn “won’t predict when the first of the two ‘Hobbit’ films will be out, but says the most probable scenario would be a release in the fourth quarter of 2012.”

The delays arise because MGM could its rights as part of the producer restructuring. Still, New Line will work up a budget for both films and start casting soon

Actor Orlando Bloom, who played Legolas in The Lord of the Rings triology, has said that he would like to return in The Hobbit. When interviewed at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival by MTV, he said that he has approached producer Peter Jackson about possibility to return:

You know, if you want me to wear the blonde wig and to have pointly ears again, I would be honoured to do it.

However, Orlando has a small chance to repeat Legolas in The Hobbit, since his character has no role part in the original story:

It’s Guillermo’s movie and I’m a huge fan of that man. He’s obviously going to take his own idea of it, but I’m excited for that movie. I think it’s going to be great.

Let’s recall that Ian McKellan, Hugo Weaving, and Cate Blanchett are back, but we still don’t know who will play Bilbo Baggins. The scenes from the novel will be re created in The Hobbit with some additional events that make an impact to The Lord of the Rings, such as the expulsion of Sauron from Mirkwood by the White Council

The tabloid The Sun has informed recently that actor Tobey Maguire (Spiderman) is rumored to play the Bilbo Baggins role in The Hobbit. The rumours have been doing the rounds for about 1 month, indicating that both producer Peter Jackson and director Guillermo Del Toro have been chasing Maguire:

Everyone is over the moon. Tobey is not only one of the most recognisable faces in Hollywood, he is also one of the best actors.

Tobey Maguire was recently asked about the rumor and claimed he had not been approached:

I love Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson and I certainly wouldn’t take myself out of the conversation.

Aintitcool.com managed to get a reply to an email they sent Peter Jackson asking if there was anything in this latest rumor:

No truth at all, although we’re all big fans of Toby. We are currently auditioning for Bilbo, and a month or two away from any announcements.

Thanks THM!

In a new interview with iFMagazine, the legendary actor Sir Ian McKellen has confirmed his involvement with The Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit, indicating:

I have been promised I’m in it.

This happened 12 hours from eating dinner with The Hobbit director Guillermo Del Toro. He also mentioned that it’s possible that he will reprise his role in X-Men Origins: Magneto, depending on the Wolverine saga development. If another Wolverine movie is created, it’s highly probable that Ian leaves the proyect.

Thanks RC!

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on January the 3rd, 1892, so we are celebrating his birthday today!

Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford from 1925 to 1945, and Merton Professor of English Language and Literature from 1945 to 1959. He was a close friend of C. S. Lewis and they were both members of the informal literary discussion group known as the Inklings. Tolkien was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II on 28 March 1972.

After his death, Tolkien’s son, Christopher, published a series of works based on his father’s extensive notes and unpublished manuscripts, including The Silmarillion. These, together with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, form a connected body of tales, poems, fictional histories, invented languages, and literary essays about an imagined world called Arda, and Middle-earth within it. Between 1951 and 1955 Tolkien applied the word legendarium to the larger part of these writings.

Tolkien is  identified as the “father” of modern fantasy literature. Tolkien’s writings have inspired many other works of fantasy and have had a lasting effect on the entire field. In 2008, The Times ranked him sixth on a list of “The 50 greatest British writers since 1945″.

Thanks for your legacy Mr. Tolkien!

Enjoy 2010! Hopefully, a lot of news about The Hobbit will be published!

From Aintitcool:

This is a news item I’d love to proclaim with all-out certainty, but my tried and trusted source(s) aren’t sure if this is a total lock, or whether it’s just someone they’re seriously interested in. Either way, producers of THE HOBBIT have begun looking at casting for the dwarves (dwarfs?), and one name has emerged as a major contender: Brian Cox. He’s a brilliant choice for the role: physically, he fits with the depiction of the the race in LOTR (well, Gimli), and he’s a born Scotsman. Also, he could yell at Galadriel for adding narration. So there you go. If this comes to fruition, you heard it here first!

I think that he can be a good Thorin Oakenshield. What do you think?

Del Toro confirmed, in an interview with BBC Radio 5, that Hugo Weaving will reprise the role of Elrond in the upcoming Hobbit films. Also he confirms that Andy Serkis will reprise Gollum and Ian McKellen will reprise Gandalf.

Thanks EW!