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.

As rumors of The Hobbit being made become closer and closer to reality, Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood is excited about the possibility of going back to his roots.

The young actor recently spoke to MTV about the film and Peter Jackson.

“I haven’t spoken to him directly about it [but] I’ve e-mailed him, and as far as I know the two films that they’re doing, one will be The Hobbit and another will take place between the 60 years that happened between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings,” the once and future Frodo said, possibly confirming rumors that the second planned film would not be a sequel, but instead a narrative bridge.

For his part, Wood, who next stars as a conscripted citizen in Day Zero, is psyched about the opportunity.

“If I’m asked to go back and revisit that character and it makes sense, I would love to. I would absolutely love to,” he said.

Read the full interview with Wood now.

As previously, excitedly reported: Peter Jackson has agreed to produce The Hobbit and its sequel.

New Line has already decided that both films will be produced at the same time, in similar fashion to how the Lord of the Rings trilogy was put together. No budgets have been assigned the films yet because, as New Line’s co-chair Robert Shaye put it: “You can’t budget an idea.”

As reported by Entertainment Weekly, MGM and New Line want to keep Jackson’s involvement in the film as broad as possible, teasing that he may take up both writing and directing responsibilities. Jackson’s manager Ken Kamins said his client won’t be directing the films.

“Peter won’t be directing because he felt the fans have waited long enough for The Hobbit. It will take the better part of every day of the next four years to write, direct and produce two Hobbit films,” Kamins said. “Given his current obligations to both The Lovely Bones and Tintin, waiting for Peter, Fran, and Phillippa to write, direct and produce The Hobbit would require the fans wait even longer.”

Directors Sam Raimi (Spider-Man), Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth), and Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men) are the names that come up as alternate possiblities, but no official creative decision has been made.

Assuming it finally gets made, The Hobbit will be the highest grossing movie in whatever year it’s released.

And it’s now confirmed that Peter Jackson will serve as Executive Producer of both the movie and its sequel. MGM and New Line will co-finance and co-distribute the two films.

“I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line,” Jackson said. “The Lord of the Rings is a legacy we proudly share with Bob and Michael, and together, we share that legacy with millions of loyal fans all over the world.

We are delighted to continue our journey through Middle Earth. I also want to thank Harry Sloan and our new friends at MGM for helping us find the common ground necessary to continue that journey.”

“Peter Jackson has proven himself as the filmmaker who can bring the extraordinary imagination of Tolkien to life and we full heartedly agree with the fans worldwide who know he should be making The Hobbit,” said Sloan, MGM’s Chairman and CEO.

“Now that we are all in agreement on ‘The Hobbit,’ we can focus on assembling the production team that will capture this phenomenal tale on film.”

Sir Ian McKellen hasn’t forgotten about Gandalf - and here’s the best news for fans of this wizard:

The British actor expects to reprise his Oscar-nominated role for the much anticipated The Hobbit, whether or not Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson is behind the camera for it.

McKellen told Reuters: “When Peter announced he had withdrawn from The Hobbit, he sent me an e-mail saying ‘Because I am not going to do it, it doesn’t mean you have to do the same. Of course, you must play Gandalf whether I direct or not.’”

The 68 year-old veteran of the big screen continued:

“I am glad to read that (The Hobbit) is looking more and more likely. … I would be disappointed if they didn’t want to have the original Gandalf. I suppose if I am still functioning and working well, it is very likely I would be asked to do it and if I were, I would be very pleased to do it.”

It was recently reported that New Line Cinema and Jackson are trying to mend fences in an effort to finally bring the J.R.R. Tolkien tale to the big-screen.

Both sides have been engaged in a heated lawsuit over profits from the original trilogy, which led to studio boss Robert Shaye banning Jackson from working on any New Line pic including The Hobbit.