The Hobbit News

While it's known that Guillermo Del Toro wil be directing The Hobbit, rumors have been floating that Peter Jackson - an acclaimed director himself and the producer/writer on The Hobbit - might jump behind the camera for a scene or two?

But Del Toro shot that talk down during a recent interview with MTV.

“We talked about it. I normally oppose fully the idea of second unit so my first instinct is no, we will not have second unit on this film,” Del Toro said of whether or not Jackson would jump behind the camera at all. “If there is a scheduling conflict or a problem of that sort, we may consider it, but right now the idea is I shoot everything.”

Ian McKellen has made it very well-known that he'll reprise the role of Gandalf in The Hobbit.

But what about Viggo  Mortensen? Is Aragorn going to be in the new film about Middle Earth or not?

“Ian is very proactive. He’s been banging that drum!” Mortensen told MTV. “It was a very important project to all of us and especially to him I think. He wants to make sure Gandalf is in there and in there early! I’m going to cross that bridge when I get to it.”

It's official:

The Lord of the Rings screenwriting team of Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens will join The Hobbit director Guillermo del Toro to write the screenplay for the pair of upcoming Hobbit movies.

Sources told Entertainment Weekly the deals are all finished and they have already begun writing. The Hobbit will center on Frodo's uncle, Bilbo Baggins (who will NOT be played by James McAvoy, as earlier reports had stated), and his initial discovery of the immensely-powerful ring.

New Line and MGM plan to release the two films around Christmas 2011 and Christmas 2012.

In a recent interview with IGN, director Guillermo del Toro assuaged fears that he would change the look of Gollum in The Hobbit.

When asked if he would continue with a CG Gollum, the Hellboy director said: "Absolutely. I think that it worked perfectly on the [Lord of the Rings] trilogy and if it ain't broke, why fix it?"

del Toro also had the following to say about special effects in general on The Hobbit:

"You have to be very careful not to rely on a single tool – and this is another thing that I share a passion for with Peter Jackson. We both are huge fans of 'old-world' techniques like maquettes, models, miniatures, paintings – and in the case of The Hobbit, I do intend to continue this trend and bring much more animatronics into the mix.

"We need to keep that art form alive, because it brings a textural power to the movie that ultimately affects the content. The creatures somehow seem more tactile and more tangible than CG."

On second thought, maybe James McAvoy won't be playing Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit.

"I'm a huge fan of the Tolkien saga, everything to do with Middle-earth," the actor told MTV News this weekend. "But no there's no truth in the fact that they've approached me yet."

Of course, just because they haven't approached McAvoy doesn't mean he's out of the running yet. Would you wanna see him star as Bilbo in The Hobbit?

Up next, fans can catch the British star alongside Angelina Jolie as Wesley Gibson in Wanted.

With The Hobbit now confirmed as coming to the big screen, one of the most pressing questions in the movie world is:

Who will play Bilbo Baggins?

According to a source at British newspaper The Daily Express: "A number of names have been doing the rounds, including Daniel Radcliffe and Jack Black, but James MCAvoy is the one the film's bosses really want. They're expected to have talks soon, so hopefully it could be confirmed in the not too distant future."

McAvoy seems like a solid choice, but perhaps we should take this source's information with the proverbial grain of salt. After all: Jack Black is really being considered?!?

Fans recently had a chance to ask Guillermo del Toro - director of The Hobbit and its untitled sequel - and executive producer Peter Jackson about the upcoming movies. Here's a look at what the vital players had to say in this live Web chat.

"At this point in time the plan is to write [the screenplays] for the rest of this year and start early conceptual designs. 2009 will be dedicated to pre-production on both movies and 2010 will be the year we shoot both films back to back," Jackson said, adding:

"Post production follows one film at a time with The Hobbit being released December 2011, and (Film Two) release Dec 2012. That is the schedule in about as much detail as we have ourselves at the moment."

Casting rumors have claimed that claims that Lords of the Rings veterans Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), and Andy Serkis (Gollum) have all been approached to reprise their respective roles for the films.

But Del Toro clarified the matter by warning Web surfers: not so fast, fans.

"No casting has started yet, but some people have thrown their helmet into the ring," he said, while Jackson added: "We anticipate we won't be in serious casting mode for these movies until well into next year."

While Liv Tyler's Lord of the Rings character, Arwen, doesn't appear in the book of The Hobbit, the actress would not exactly be let down if Peter Jackson called her to star in the big screen version of the story.

"Oh, are you kidding?" she said when asked. "In a heartbeat! I'll buy my own ticket and be on the plane in a second. I mean, that was a magical experience and it was just a once in a lifetime, amazing [thing]. Because it was so like… we knew and we didn't know that it was sort of something that had never been done before, and there was this feeling that was really gung-ho.

Like, 'O.K., let's go off together!' And we just rolled our sleeves up. It really was this amazing, crazy, special thing."

So far we know that Guillermo del Toro has signed up as the director for The Hobbit prequels.  We also know that Peter Jackson will server as producer this time around.

However, thanks to some questions and answers by Sir Ian McKellen on his blog, we can pretty much guarantee he'll be returning as Gandalf.  McKellen has previously expressed interest in the part, but now it nice to hear the powers that be agree!

Q: Have you been approached yet by Peter Jackson or anyone else about  reprising your wonderful role as Gandalf for the two upcoming  "Hobbit" movies. I read that principal photography begins in 2009,  and I can't imagine those movies without you!

A: Encouragingly, Peter and Fran Walsh have told me they couldn't imagine The Hobbit without their original Gandalf.  Their confidence hasn't yet been confirmed by the director Guillermo del Toro but I am keeping my diary free for 2009!

Q: So has it come to pass, good Sir McKellen? Shall  the dreaming masses with their musty books and  their blackened pipes at long last hear those  immortal words issue from under that famous nose?  "Yes, yes, my dear sir-and I know your name, Mr.  Bilbo Baggins. And you do know my name, though  you don't remember that I belong to it. I am  Gandalf, and Gandalf means me! To think I should  have lived to be good-morninged by Belladonna  Took's son, as if I was selling buttons at the door!"  Looking about, I find I share the same hopes as  millions of others, so I ask, a single query in a  chorus... Will you again be our Gandalf in "The  Hobbit" now that the deal is settled?

A: Yes I will, if Peter Jackson and I have anything to do with it, he being the producer and me being, on the whole, a very lucky actor.  I've just read your quote out loud - fabulous speech.

You can read the rest of McKellen's Lord of the Rings Posts at his E-Post.

Guillermo del Toro (pictured) is in talks to direct back-to-back installments of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, reports The Hollywood Reporter.

Del Toro, of course, has built up goodwill in the geek world through such films as the Oscar-nominated Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy, Blade 2 and The Devil's Backbone.

Due to other commitments that included The Lovely Bones and Tintin, The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson could not take on writing and directing roles, opting instead to become an executive producer with approval over creative elements of the pair of films.

Principal photography for the films, which will be shot simultaneously, is tentatively set for 2009. The production budget is estimated at $150 million per film. The release of the first film is slated for 2010 and the second in 2011.

The Hobbit is centered on Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf who go on a quest to find the treasure of a dragon named Smaug.