Sci-Fi Film and Television Developments

The Hobbit

2/8/12 - Scottish actor Billy Connolly is joining the cast of Peter Jackson’s adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Connolly will play Dain Ironfoot, a great dwarf warrior and cousin of Thorin Oakenshield.  “We could not think of a more fitting actor to play Dain Ironfoot, the staunchest and toughest of Dwarves, than Billy Connelly, the Big Yin himself," Jackson said. "With Billy stepping into this role, the cast of The Hobbit is now complete. We can't wait to see him on the Battlefield!"

6/20/11 - Evangeline Lilly will star in The Hobbit, Peter Jackson announced on his Facebook page. Jackson's wrote, “Yikes! I can finally get back to some postings!  We've finished our first block of shooting and moved straight into location scouting. More on that soon... But today, I'm thrilled to announce two new cast members who will be joining us for our second block of shooting.  Evangeline Lilly will be playing a new character—the Woodland Elf, Tauriel. Her name means 'daughter of Mirkwood' and, beyond that, we must leave you guessing! (No, there is no romantic connection to Legolas.) What is not a secret is how talented and compelling an actress Evangeline is; we are thrilled and excited she will be the one to bring our first true Sylvan Elf to life.  I'm also highly excited that Barry Humphries will be portraying the Goblin King, in much the way Andy Serkis created Gollum. Barry is perhaps best known for his business and social connections as the long-time manager of Dame Edna Everage. He has also been an ardent supporter of the rather misunderstood and unfairly maligned Australian politician, Sir Les Patterson. However, in his spare time, Barry is also a fine actor, and we're looking forward to seeing him invest the Goblin King with the delicate sensitivity and emotional depth this character deserves.  Evangeline and Barry, along with Welsh actor Luke Evans as Bard and Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug, just about rounds out the major casting. I cannot wait to get stuck into these new scenes!  More soon, including a flurry of answers to your questions. Sorry for the delay!”

5/31/11 - Peter Jackson's two upcoming movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit have now been given official names and release dates, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  The first of the two films will be called The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey when it arrives in theaters via Warners on Dec. 14, 2012.  The sequel, which will follow on Dec. 13, 2013, will be known as The Hobbit: There and Back Again.  The two prequels to Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy follow the adventures of Bilbo Baggins -- to be played by Martin Freeman, with Ian Holm reprising his role as the elder Bilbo -- in his quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the dragon Smaug.  The sprawling cast includes a number of other Rings veterans: Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey; Cate Blanchett as Galadriel; Orlando Bloom as Legolas; Christopher Lee as Saruman; Hugo Weaving as Elrond; Elijah Wood as Frodo; and Andy Serkis as Gollum. The ensemble cast also includes Richard Armitage, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Sylvester McCoy, Bret McKenzie, Graham McTavish, Mike Mizrahi, James Nesbitt, Dean O'Gorman, Lee Pace, Mikael Persbrandt, Conan Stevens, Ken Stott, Jeffrey Thomas, and Aidan Turner.

5/27/11 - Orlando Bloom has joined the cast of the Hobbit, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  "Ten years ago, Orlando Bloom created an iconic character with his portrayal of Legolas," he wrote on Facebook. "I'm excited to announce today that we'll be revisiting Middle Earth with him once more. I'm thrilled to be working with Orlando again."  Jackson is currently directing the two-movie adaptation in New Zealand.  He helped catapult Bloom to stardom by giving him his first major film roles as Legolas in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Looking back, Jackson wrote on his Facebook page, "I look older and he doesn't! I guess that's why he makes such a wonderful elf."

4/5/11 - Bret McKenzie has joined The Hobbit.  McKenzie will play an elf in the New Line film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  The Hobbit, which is shooting in New Zealand, follows Bilbo Baggins' (Martin Freeman) epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor.

1/11/11 - Ian McKellen will reprise his role as Gandalf in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit.  McKellen confirmed his casting on his website Tuesday.  Also returning are Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett and Andy Serkis.

12/7/10 – Variety reported that Cate Blanchett, Ken Stott, Sylvester McCoy and Mikael Persbrandt have joined the cast of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit.  New Line and MGM also announced Tuesday that Ryan Gage, Jed Brophy and William Kircher have also been cast. The co-financers said that Jackson remains on track to begin shooting the back-to-back pics in February.  Blanchett will reprise her role from "Lord of The Rings" trilogy as elf ruler Galadriel.  Stott will portray the Dwarf Lord Balin; McCoy is slotted to play the wizard Radagast the Brown; and Persbrandt will play the shape-shifter Beorn.  British actor Gage will play Drogo Baggins. New Zealand actors Jed Brophy will portray the dwarf Nori and William Kircher is signed to portray the dwarf Bifur.  Previously announced cast includes Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, Richard Armitage, Aidan Turner, Rob Kazinsky, Graham McTavish, John Callen, Stephen Hun-ter, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, James Nesbitt and newcomer Adam Brown.  The Hobbit films have release dates targeted for December 2012 and December 2013.  Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Carolynne Cunningham are producing the films, with Phillipa Boyens serving as co-producer and Ken Kamins exec producing. Jackson is also directing.

10/22/10 - Martin Freeman is set to star as Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's two-movie adaptation of The Hobbit.  New Line confirmed the news and also took steps to clear up other casting rumors by announcing a slew of other names, many of whom will play key roles of as part of the Company of Dwarves.  Richard Armitage is set to play Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of the Company of Dwarves, who set off to reclaim the lost dwarven kingdom under the Lonely Mountain from Smaug, a thieving dragon.  Aidan Turner and Rob Kazinsky will play Kili and Fili, respectively.  The remaining dwarves will be Graham McTavish as Dwalin, John Callen as Oin, Stephen Hunter as Bombur, Mark Hadlow as Dori and Peter Hambleton as Gloin.  Expected to return from the Lord of the Rings films is Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Andy Serkis as Gollum.

10/15/10 - The Hobbit has gotten the go-ahead to start shooting in February with Peter Jackson at the helm.  The sets are already built, key players—including Ian McKellen—are waiting, and the script has been underway since 2008. Now, the $400 million, back-to-back production of the two-part Lord of the Rings prequel can finally begin.

6/25/10 - After Guillermo del Toro departed The Hobbit, Peter Jackson has been in talks to take over as director.  Variety reported that no official confirmation was available Friday from co-financiers MGM and New Line, nor from Jackson's rep at Key Creatives.  "If that's what I have to do to protect Warner Bros.' investment, then obviously that's one angle which I'll explore," Jackson said in an interview with the Dominion Post -- while noting that stepping in as "Hobbit" director would be difficult as he had signed writer and director contracts for two other unidentified films.  Jackson also said at the time that he wasn't anticipating any delay or disruption to pre-production work on The Hobbit and indicated that the pics were on track for releases in December 2012 and December 2013.

6/1/10 - Guillermo del Toro has stepped down as director of the J.R.R. Tolkien The Hobbit film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  "In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming "The Hobbit," I am faced with the hardest decision of my life," Guillermo wrote in his announcement on "Lord of the Rings" fansite TheOneRing.net . "After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien's Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures."  He said he would continue to co-write the screenplays with Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Phillippa Boyens.  "The blessings have been plenty, but the mounting pressures of conflicting schedules have overwhelmed the time slot originally allocated for the project," said del Toro in his statement. "Both as a co-writer and as a director, I wish the production nothing but the very best of luck and I will be first in line to see the finished product. I remain an ally to it and its makers, present and future, and fully support a smooth transition to a new director."  Jackson stated he understood del Toro's position: "We understand how the protracted development time on these two films, due to reasons beyond anyone's control ... has compromised his commitment to other long term projects. The bottom line is that Guillermo just didn't feel he could commit six years to living in New Zealand, exclusively making these films, when his original commitment was for three years."  Jackson said development on Hobbit would continue apace, although his statement did not specifically address any possible postponement of the release date.  "New Line and Warner Bros. will sit down with us this week, to ensure a smooth and uneventful transition, as we secure a new director for the Hobbit. We do not anticipate any delay or disruption to ongoing pre-production work," he said.

4/28/10 - Warner Bros. is scheduling Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro's two-part adaptation of The Hobbit for December 2012 and December 2013, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  While the project is taking a bit longer than the filmmakers anticipated, it is now on track for 2012 -- rather than the 2013 date mentioned in the Imax release.  The second movie's script was turned in to the studio a couple of weeks ago.

4/16/10 – Moviefone reported that Peter Jackson confirmed that the script for the two proposed Hobbit movies is now complete.  "We've just delivered the script. Literally last week, we delivered the second of the two screenplays -- the first draft. So the studio's got both scripts now, which is a milestone; and if anything was holding it up, it was us doing the screenplays, because we'd just been writing as fast as we can, but it took us this long to get them finished. So we take whatever responsibility there is for the speed. And we're now in the process of budgeting the films, and then hopefully we'll get to a budget the studio [people] are happy with, and they'll greenlight the movies and we'll announce the shooting dates. I'd be pretty optimistic that we'll be shooting before the end of the year. I would imagine October, November, we'd be shooting by. I'm not announcing it, though."  Until the production receives a green light, producers can't cast or set up a schedule, Jackson added. "But I would imagine that if we get a green light within the next month or two, we would be hopefully making some casting announcements by, I guess, the middle of the year. We've done a little bit of auditioning, but we haven't really done any meetings with actors or anything yet. We've just been totally committed to the scripts. Everything's a little bit later than what people assume it is. I think people think we've been sort of doing secret casting."

3/17/10 - Sir Ian McKellen revealed that the start of filming for The Hobbit will begin in June.  The Hobbit’s, two films, start shooting in New Zealand in June. Filming will take over a year. Casting in Los Angeles, New York City and London has started. The script too proceeds. The first draft is crammed with old and new friends, again on a quest in Middle Earth.  The two-film adaptation of The Hobbit will be directed by Guillermo del Toro, with Jackson producing and co-writing along with his partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens.

12/7/09 – SCIFI Wire reported that producer Peter Jackson will make two films from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.  The two movies will be based solely on the book.  "The second Hobbit script is still based on the Hobbit novel," Jackson said. "The Hobbit novel is in two parts."  The Hobbit tells the story of a young Bilbo Baggins' quest for a treasure guarded by the dragon Smaug. In the more youth-oriented adventure, Tolkien established the world of Middle-earth, where he later set his Lord of the Rings trilogy.  Whereas each of the Lord of the Rings films was based on a separate book, screenwriters Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens (with del Toro) have found a middle point where they could end The Hobbit: Part 1 and begin The Hobbit: Part 2.  The first Hobbit movie is due in theaters in 2011, with part two following in 2012.

10/13/09 - Ian McKellen is expected to reprise his Lord of the Rings role of Gandalf in director Guillermo del Toro's Hobbit movies, and though nothing's official yet, the actor told Empire magazine that he doubts many of his Rings co-stars will appear.  "Unfortunately, there won't be many of the actors going back," he said. "Unless they're going to put masks on and be disguised as dwarves! Andy Serkis is, at the moment, I think, the only other actor who's doing this film."  McKellen said:  "The scripts for the two films will be delivered very soon. Then they'll be budgeted, and then they'll be cast. And they'll be going when they've always said they would be, which is next spring—March or April. Guillermo even told me at one point, 'We're going to film for 383 days.' He's got that artistic autism! Producer Peter Jackson's the same; they're very, very, very alike. They also very different, but they've so much in common."

9/8/09 - New Line Cinema, the Tolkien estate and publisher Harper Collins have settled the lawsuit over profits from the Lord of the Rings films released between 2001 and 2003, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which is good news for those waiting for a film adaptation of The Hobbit.  The J.R.R. Tolkien estate had sued New Line for at least $150 million in damages for failing to pay 7.5 percent of gross receipts from the three films, which netted an estimated $6 billion combined. The estate claimed it hadn't been paid "one penny" from its contractual share and took issue with many of New Line's claimed expenses, including "advertisement" payments made to AOL (also owned by Time Warner) and money for production offices and facilities being used for other New Line films.  At the time, the plaintiffs wanted a court order that would give them the right to terminate any rights New Line might have to other Tolkien works, including The Hobbit.  In a statement on the settlement, Christopher Tolkien said, "The Trustees regret that legal action was necessary, but are glad that this dispute has been settled on satisfactory terms that will allow the Tolkien Trust properly to pursue its charitable objectives. The Trustees acknowledge that New Line may now proceed with its proposed films of 'The Hobbit.'"

8/24/09 - Ian McKellen put in an appearance at London's BFI IMAX cinema Saturday night for a special marathon screening of the extended editions of all three Lord of the Rings films, and surprised the audience by unexpectedly revealing Hobbit news during his introductory remarks, /film reported.  Not only did he confirm that he'll be coming back as Gandalf, and is expecting to start work on set in March of next year, he also dropped a bit of a casting bombshell. According to McKellen, the starring role of Bilbo Baggins has been successfully cast already. Not only that, but he knows who has the role and he's sure that the fans will be very, very pleased.  McKellen also revealed that he is expecting his own personal copy of the script within the next two weeks.

6/22/09 – SCI FI Wire reported that director Guillermo del Toro dropped some details for some of his upcoming high-profile projects, including The Hobbit and Frankenstein.  He told Sci-Fi Squad that Doug Jones would be involved in The Hobbit and, more important, would play the monster in his remake of the horror classic Frankenstein.  “We have not had any conversations about what he wants for The Hobbit," Jones explains, "but he's 'wink-wink, nudge-nudged' me a couple times with that 'Yeah, yeah, The Hobbit, yeah, we'll see you. I don't know what I'm doing or how many characters it will be, because he tends to like to use me the whole time depending."  Jones says he's preparing for his trip to the Shire. "Yeah, I did review The Hobbit already, so when he tells me what character I'm playing I won't be like, 'Well, who's that?'"

6/12/09 - Guillermo del Toro has confirmed in a chat with BBC Radio 5's Simon Mayo that Hugo Weaving will reunite with Andy Serkis and Ian McKellen in The Hobbit; Weaving played Elrond in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, ComingSoon.net reported.

6/3/09 - Guillermo del Toro returns to New Zealand to make two films based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and told reporters and fans that he is happy development takes so long, because it makes the films better. Del Toro has been prepping the film since he got the job in 2008.  "I wish it took longer even," del Toro said.  Writing is still underway on the two screenplays for the movies, which will be produced by Peter Jackson. "We're working on it still," del Toro said. "I think it will be finished when the DVD comes out."  The Hobbit is due in theaters in 2012.

1/9/09 - Ian McKellan said he was meeting with The Hobbit director Guillermo del Toro on Thursday to discuss reprising his Lord of the Rings role of Gandalf the wizard in the prequel, based on J.R.R. Tolkien's book.  Preproduction on The Hobbit is underway. "I've been promised I am going to be involved," McKellan said. "And as Guillermo del Toro's directing it, I should be so lucky. And in New Zealand, a place I love, so it's almost an ideal job for me."  Meanwhile, McKellan said that he has not seen a script yet for the proposed X-Men spinoff film featuring his character, Magneto. David Goyer has written a script, but it has not made it to the actor yet.  "I haven't read a script, no," McKellan said. "It's not come my way. I'm here and ready and waiting, but I think if they do do a spinoff of Magneto, it'll be about the young man, the young Magneto."  The success of the upcoming prequel film X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which stars Hugh Jackman, could determine Magneto's prospects.

8/20/08 - Entertainment Weekly reported that Peter Jackson and his producing/writing partners, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, will join director Guillermo del Toro writing the screenplay for The Hobbit and its sequel.  Sources told EW.com that the writers' deals are all complete and that they have already begun writing. Shooting is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2009, at the earliest, in New Zealand.  The Hobbit, based on J.R.R. Tolkien's book, will center on Frodo's uncle, Bilbo Baggins, and his initial discovery of the powerful ring. New Line and MGM plan to release the two films Christmas 2011 and Christmas 2012.

6/26/08 - Guillermo del Toro, who is set to direct a pair of films adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, said recently that he wants the films to re-create the spirit of the books.  Del Toro went on to say that the film will not necessarily be similar in style to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, nor will it be like any of his own dark fantasy films, such as Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth.  "I'm not trying to honor either my style or what I'm gravitating normally towards," del Toro said. "I know that for a fact I gravitated towards the novel. So there's something there that echoes with me very strongly, which is not the case with most fantasy, in my case."  The film is scheduled to begin shooting later this year in New Zealand. Del Toro said that the film is still in the early stages of pre-conception and isn't even officially in preproduction yet. He has, however, been making regular trips to New Zealand to visit Weta Workshop, the special-effects house that will be working on the films.

06/06/08 - Christopher Lee said recently that would be willing to play the wizard Saruman again in Guillermo Del Toro's adaptation of The Hobbit, though the character doesn't actually appear in J.R.R. Tolkien's original book.

05/23/08 - Preliminary contact has been made with three actors from the Lord of the Rings films to reprise their characters in Guillermo del Toro's upcoming Hobbit films, including Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Ian McKellen (Gandalf) and Andy Serkis (Gollum).

05/01/08 – British actor Ian McKellen said he will reprise the role of the wizard Gandalf in Guillermo del Toro's upcoming movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.  The 68-year-old star played the part in the hugely successful Lord of the Rings trilogy directed by Peter Jackson. Mexican filmmaker del Toro has been named to direct two films based on The Hobbit, which Jackson will produce and co-write.  The studios have said that filming will begin in 2009, with tentative release dates set in 2010 for the first film and 2011 for the sequel.

04/25/08 - Guillermo del Toro has signed on to direct The Hobbit and its sequel for executive producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh.  Del Toro will move to New Zealand for the next four years to work with Jackson. He'll direct the two films back to back, with the sequel dealing with the 60-year period between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, the first installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  It's likely that the studios are aiming at starting shooting next year and releasing the films in late 2011 and 2012.

03/26/08 - Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf the wizard in the three Lord of the Rings movies, said he’s interested in reprising the role in the Peter Jackson-produced Hobbit movies.  Jackson is producing two Hobbit films, based on J.R.R. Tolkien's book.

12/27/07 - After Drag Me to Hell, Raimi is expected to helm The Hobbit films for New Line and MGM now that Peter Jackson has made it clear he won't direct them, the trade paper reported.

Jackson was recently quoted as having an interest in doing The Hobbit, however he felt it was a few years away for him.  Who knows at this stage - maybe another director could taken the helm.

There's been rumors about this prequel to Lord of the Rings since the first movie release.  Most if it generated by fans of LOTR.  Let's face it, Jackson did such an outstanding job with LOTR, it would be awesome for him to do The Hobbit. 

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