If you are one of the myriad fans of the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, you will be heartened to learn that events are moving forward toward the creation of a two movie series based on the original book, “The Hobbit.” This week we learned that Sir Ian McKellen has signed on to reprise his role as Gandalf and that Peter Jackson will definitely be involved.
As was expected, Ian McKellen has agreed to be a part of the two-film Hobbit project, according to Empire magazine.
McKellen had said last year that he would not be involved in The Hobbit if Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson were excluded, which was possible because of since-resolved royalties disputes with New Line Cinema. Jackson will produce the two films being adapted from and adding to J.R.R. Tolkien’s original novel, The Hobbit, Or There and Back Again (1937), slated for 2010 and 2011.
We also learned that Guillermo del Toro (of Hellboy fame) will direct. As the technology of special effects continues to advance, The Hobbit promises some real treats. While there were monsters aplenty in Lord of the Rings, I can’t wait to see what they do with the giant, fire-breathing dragon, Smaug, in this movie rendition. There is also a battle of five armies near the end of the tale which should make for some epic battle sequences.
One concern has been the age of the actors involved as more and more years roll by between films. This is further complicated by the fact that The Hobbit takes place many years before the beginning of Lord of the Rings. For many roles, this won’t be an issue as most of the key characters were new in LoTR. Gandalf is in both, but he was already rumored to be more than 1,000 years old in both films, so that’s not as much of an issue. Gollum is likewise not a problem, since he is actually “played” by an unseen actor in a greenscreen suit who is then digitally edited out and replaced by the CGI monster. The big question will be Bilbo, who features prominently in both series, but is supposed to be far younger in the first film. I’m betting they get a new actor to play the younger version of the hobbit.
Stay tuned for more updates. We have a couple of years to wait still, but this should be another box office giant.