Tweeted first by BBC Entertainment Reporter Lizo (here), apparently Bilbo Baggins, aka Martin Freeman, has let slip that fellow ‘Sherlock’ actor Benedict Cumberbatch has a role in The Hobbit. Seems like a good pick for casting, but what role will he play? Share your thoughts in our comments, discussion board and on facebook! (Personally, I think he looks rather Elven. But his name is so Hobbitish!)

Ian McKellen blogs that Martin Freeman, who stars as Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, has gone on hiatus in order to fulfill his previous commitment to shoot three more Sherlock telefilms. (Freeman, in case you didn’t know, plays Dr. Watson in the show.) He’ll return to the Hobbit production upon completion of Sherlock.

“The rest of the cast remains on duty for another few weeks, working on hobbit-less sections of the film. These involve dwarves of course but also elves, with Hugo Weaving back for a stretch as Lord Elrond,” wrote McKellen. More..

It’s been more than a month since Sir Ian McKellen posted an entry on his blog “Notes From Imladris” dedicated to his adventures filming The Hobbit. But the wait seems to have been worth it.

His latest blog entry “THE HOBBIT, 2 Elves, and another Wizard” is replete with a picture of Hugo Weaving, who’ll be returning as Lord Elrond, a screencap from ROTK of Bret McKenzie as the Elf Lindir, and a picture of  Sylvester McCoy who’s been cast in the role of Radagast the Brown.

Threads of interest follow:

  • Martin Freeman has left The Hobbit. No worries: he’ll be back in Middle Earth after our first hiatus… The rest of the cast remains on duty for another few weeks, working on hobbit-less sections of the film.  These involve dwarves of course but also elves, with Hugo Weaving back for a stretch as Lord Elrond.
  • Another slim-line elf returning from LOTR, is a local: New Zealand’s actor/comedian/singer Bret McKenzie. Now he is briefly back in Rivendell as a senior official at Elrond’s Court and he has a name “Lindir”, which means “singer”.
  • And there’s another wizard in town, preparing to make his appearance as Radagast the Brown, the eccentric friend of Gandalf’s, played by Sylvester McCoy. This week he has been trying out his make-up and costume.

The blog post makes for an amazing read, so be sure to click that link above and read the Grey Wizard’s notes in his own hand.

Master Titi, the spy that send the set pics exclusive to TheOneRing.net yesterday, has sent in a new batch of images today. In this latest set, we get to see some actors in costume, and in one particular image, it sure looks like he might have captured the first pic of Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins! Click on the images below for a larger version and let the conversations begin!  (Don’t forget, to click the ‘discuss’ link on this story to share your thoughts with over 6000 Tolkien fans, or find us on Facebook to interact with 20,000+!)

 

On this episode of Hobbit in 5, Production finally begins on the Hobbit, TheOneRing.net launches both it’s Hall of Fire Chats and it’s Special Events Calendar, plus the official blog of the Hobbit goes up! We know the name of the show is “Hobbit in 5” but we let the length of this one slide since it’s our tenth! Thanks for watching and supporting us!

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