Ian Mckellen and Elijah Wood Talk About Hobbit Roles

Well, the Hobbit cast continues to expand as Peter Jackson is clearly planning to try an integrate a smooth transition from The Hobbit movies into The Lord of the Rings series.  It is for this reason that Jackson is bringing back much of the original cast for cameo roles in the new films.  Yet to be officially signed, but are still rumored, are Viggo Mortensen, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving and Sean Astin.  In fact, it was reported on Christopher Lee’s website that indeed he has been in talks with Hobbit production and an official signing is imminent.

There have been many talks and accusations that Ian Mckellen’s delay in signing for the Hobbit movies was money driven.  He refutes the idea in a statement he mad.  He said,

“The deciding negotiation was not about money but about dates…Gandalf is needed on set over the next 18 months, but with sizeable breaks when I can work on other projects. My worry that I could not easily escape from Middle Earth was lifted.”

As my agent continued to negotiate with Warner Brothers, I kept wondering was Gandalf what I most wanted to do, more than a new play for instance or indeed a new part? Sequels aren’t necessarily as rewarding to act in as their originals.

Could I let Gandalf go? Would anyone else care if I did? Elsewhere, does anyone care that Michael Gambon was not the first to play Dumbledore?”

Of course and true Lord of the Rings fan would say that a HUGE difference would be made if indeed Sir Ian Mckellen was not the one chosen as Gandalf for the prequels.  However, the issue was settled and we are happy that Sir Ian heard the voice of the people…and I’m sure he is getting paid plenty for it.

Elijah Wood also recently discussed his upcoming contribution to The Hobbit films. When asked in a recent interview his thoughts on returning as Frodo, he said,

“We thought we were finished and the character doesn’t even exist in The Hobbit, so it was not even a pipe dream to imagine the possibility would be there for me to reprise the role of Frodo. But they’ve come up with something that I think is kind of interesting and I think very fitting that doesn’t necessarily infringe upon the integrity of the original novel. It’s great. I’m really excited.

I think [the rolle will] be relatively minimal. That’s my impression. I actually haven’t read anything yet. I haven’t read a script. I have almost as much information as you guys have!”

There still remains a lot of skepticism and division among Tolkien fans around the world, whether Jackson’s decision to bring on several of the old cast is a good one.  Jackson claims that he is able to without detouring from the core story of the original novel.  What do you think.  Share your thoughts on our Hobbit Message Board.