Many fans and moviegoers have been waiting for a reliable source to reveal details about which LOTR characters will be returning for The Hobbit: Part 1. Peter Jackson finally went on record with MTV (Collider noticed and told us) and gave us what we wanted.
The Academy-Award winning director, who’s executive producing and co-writing the coming Hobbit flick, is very busy these days with producer-related responsibilities for The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn and The Lovely Bones (which he also directed). For those of you who’ve been in serious hiding, The Hobbit: Part 1 is to be directed by Guillermo Del Toro, who’s probably best known for his direction on the Hellboy movies along with Pan’s Labyrinth.
Check out who Jackson says could return from the Lord of the Rings trilogy below.
“Gandalf, being a 2,000-year-old wizard, is still around and plays a major role in The Hobbit, and we’re having Ian McKellen reprise… There’s a couple of other characters: Elrond, who was played by Hugo Weaving [in the original films], and there’s a possibility of Galadriel, who was played by Cate Blanchett.”
“They are elves, so once again, in the realm of Middle-earth, they’re immortal, they don’t age… We have a process that would start with showing them the script. We’re not [beginning] any official process until we have the ‘official’ script that they can read.”
We already know that the script for The Hobbit: Part 1 has been completed and submitted and the second is on track to be finished at the end of this month or beginning of the new year. We also know, despite some rumors, that the first of the duology is still scheduled to open in theaters at the end of 2011.
I’m curious to see if the new Hobbit flicks are so packed with story, character development, etc. that two films are warranted, or if this trick will end up smelling like someone said, “Hey! Why make only one movie out of a beloved story that will gross $800MM worldwide when we can make two?” I guess my final position on that will be in hands of Mr. Del Toro and Mr. Jackson.
Other than the logically appropriate immortals (or whatever Gandalf is) showing up, which character(s) from LOTR would you like to see in The Hobbit: Part 1?
The Hobbit: Part 1 is scheduled for a December, 2011 release.
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Which characters would I like to see appear in ‘The Hobbit’? Would it be too much to ask to see the ones that were in the book, and only the ones that were in the book?
Amen to that. I sincerely hope that the execs have enough sense to not try some backside bullpucky and drag the timelines together so Frodo and Sam can have another screen cuddle.
honestly i would love to c elija wood he was so amazing as frodo all though i know it would make no sense what so ever i still would like to c him in it somwhere
I don’t really want to see anyone from the Lord of the Rings. I want to watch Beorn. ):
In the past, Jackson’s films have shown respect for the original material. I sincerely hope he will continue to do so in this case, and stick to the characters that belong in The “Hobbit”, which takes place decades before LOTR. Ian Holm, who played Bilbo in LOTR, is probably a bit long in the tooth to reprise the role. Casting him in the role would be as unfortunate as those scenes at the beginning of “The Natural” that try to pass off Redford and Close as high school sweeties.
I bet Frodo is in the second one, it is mostly a new story isnt it, the second part?
I’d like to Aragorn and Boromir back, I mean Sean Bean got killed off in Fellowship and still appearered in both of the other films.
I certainly hope not! I had the impression the first film was to end with a “cliffhanger” and the second would resolve the plot. Frodo doesn’t appear in the Hobbit. Period. Nor do Aragorn or Boromir. The Hobbit is the story of Bilbo’s finding of the ring, during his adventure with Gandalf and the Dwarves, SIXTY YEARS BEFORE the LOTR takes place.
There might have been some justification to having John Rhys-Davies appear as Gloin, the father of Gimli, his character in LOTR, but he reportedly turned the role down. Any apppearance of Frodo, Sam, or any of the other members of the Fellowship of the Ring, would make a terrible hash of the timeline and make absolutely no sense whatsoever.
I know Aragorn is 90 at the time of the Fellowship of the Ring and he fought in battle with Theoden’s father…it could have been the Battle of Five Armies..it might not be but Aragorn was alive and a grown man at the time of the Hobbit..Legalos again is immortal so he could be in there…AS LONG AS IT DOESN”T DETRACT FROM THE “HOBBIT”‘s story I am all for returning characters..I think it is a testament to how good LOTR trilogy really was that at the end of those three movies people still want to see more of those characters…
The problem I see with that is that the plot of “The Hobbit” has no connection whatsoever with the battle of the Five Armies, Sauron’s rise, or any of the major points of LOTR, except for the finding of The Ring. Even Gandalf doesn’t make the connection until decades later. Dragging in characters from LOTR, regardless of their popularity, creates confusing and awkward plot points, that can’t be resolved without changing Tolkein’s intentions.
Don
it’s not as if you won’t have a parcel of dwarves to get attached to, plus seeing Beorn. we get treated to more dwarf/elf animosity, the trolls, the wood spiders, the escape from wood elves, barrel riding, meeting Bard of Dale and the like should be plenty and we haven’t even got to the dragon yet. BTW have they decided on who is voicing Smaug yet?
@ Don
“The problem I see with that is that the plot of “The Hobbit” has no connection whatsoever with the battle of the Five Armies”
Um Dude.. The Battle of Five Armies is depicted in The Hobbit, was fought between the Goblins and the Wargs against the Men of the Long Lake, the Elves of Mirkwood, and the Dwarves on and near the Lonely Mountain.
Cheers
An article with Screen Rant’s Scott Miller touched on that very point Piratedan
http://screenrant.com/the-hobbit-casting-tom-waits-scottm-36918/
Doh!
I was conflating The Battle of the Five Armies with the First War of the Ring. My bad! I still think it would be a mistake to drag in any of the characters from LOTR, as this would suggest connections and plot points that Tolkien never intended.
Don
@ Don…
They are all connected..call it six degrees of separation : Middle Earth Edition!!
Aragorn and Legolas have history in Tolkien’s universe before the events of LOTR.Gandalf, Aragorn and Legalos have met prior to LOTR as well..Most people are only familiar with the trilogy and the Hobbit but there is a lot of history which Tolkien carefully wove with his various masterpieces..I would love to see all of them made into movies..Wouldn’t it be great to see the First War of the Ring come to life on the big screen? I would love to see the Five books that form the Silmarillion especially “Quenta Silmarillion” which chronicles the history of Middle Earth before the First Age and the fourth part ” Akallabêth” which tells of the fall of Numenor which is Aragorn’s Bloodline and of course book five ” Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age” leads up to the events of the LOTR trilogy..They could make some fantastic films based o this material!!! They have enough there to make another ten films if they wished so!!
As long as the characters are around at the time and it would make sense for them to show up I don’t think I would have a problem with them having a few cameos.
For example, having Legolas show up in the background in Mirkwood would make perfect sense considering that’s where he’s from.
They sure can make many(most likely double digits) awesome movies from all the books together. Much better than some other fantasy series(read Harry Potter!).
Infact I would even say that LOTR movies under the right hands(Peter Jackson) can create a series of movies that will DEFINE film making for everyone
Don’t change the original. Tolkin created one if not the greatest world of fantasy ever in literature. We should follow and believe in his mastermind. Every character in the book should be shown. Others not.
At the risk of sounding like a complete nerd (and since the author kinda asked at the end of the piece) Gandalf is a Maiar, or demi-god. Made of the same basic stuff as Sauron, as they were both originally servants of the smith god Aule (IIRC). Gandalf came across the ocean with Saruman, Radagast, Alatar and Pallando way back in the day in the form of mortal wizards, landing at the Gray Havens, whereupon Gandalf is given one of the three elven rings of power.
I sincerely hope, also, that they stick to the characters in the book. Peter Jackson did such an excellent job with the LOTR movies. I trust he will do the same with the Hobbit.
Even though, if you read the Appendix, Gandalf does at some point commission Strider(Aragorn) and the Rangers to guard the borders of the Shire. But as I said I hope they stay true to the characters in the book…so many I would like to see fleshed out onthe big screen!
THE HOBBIT is being split into two parts now, instead of the book comprising the first film. Since Gandalf remains close to Thorin’s company for most of the first half of the novel, I’m not sure how much of the new material will be in Part 1. I expect that Saruman will have to be in Part 2, as a member of the White Council. Hopefully, Christopher Lee will be healthy enough and agreeable to resume the role.
@ Yahweh
I’ll gladly geek out with you on Tolkien’s magnificent universe..
Gandalf came to the northwest of Middle-earth after a thousand years of the Third Age had passed, with four others of his order(you listed those above
). At the Grey Havens, Cirdan entrusted him with the Red Ring, Narya, to aid him in contesting the will of Sauron. They were sent by the Valar to aid Elves and Men, but none knew this but Cirdan the Shipwright, Lord of the Grey Havens where their ships were docked. He(Cirdan) later informed Lord Elrond of Gandalf’s presence and that is part of the reason why Elrond and Gandalf were such close friends..Though Saruman was at that time the acknowledged leader of the Wizards, Cirdan saw that Gandalf was in fact the greater & wiser, and secretly gave him the Red Ring Narya to aid him in his quest.
Sauron was the mightiest of the Maiar, and in the beginning of days he served Aule the Smith. From Aule he learnt much of forging and duilding and making, knowledge that he would make use of many thousands of years later when he built the Barad-dûr and forged the One Ring.He was seduced and corrupted by Melkor.
The White Council consisted of five members:
Saruman
Cirdan
Elrond
Galadriel
Gandalf
with
ALso being possible members
Celeborn
Radagast
Glorfindel
Thranduil
It’s strange to read folks describe PJ as doing a great job sticking with story in LOTR and asking for the same in The Hobbit. PJ made lots of changes to LOTR that were far more serious than adding a meeting of the White Council to the Hobbit. That meeting was a contemporaneous occurrence with the events of The Hobbit, and makes perfect sense to be included – if done well. As a matter of fact it makes more sense to include the actions of all the White Council members and Sauron during Bilbo’s journey than it did to replace Glorfindel with Arwen bringing Frodo across the Anduin, to rearrange Frodo’s journey taking him to Osgiliath, or to kill and then resurrect Aragorn as a device to advance the love story. I loved the movies, but there was quite a bit of unnecessary, serious dickering with the original text.
Far more true to the Tolkien Universe would be a Hobbit film that begins 91 years before Bilbo’s journey, with Gandalf visiting Thrain imprisoned in Dol Goldur. Gandalf discovers that the master of Dol Goldur is Sauron not Angmar. He discovers that Sauron is gathering all the rings and searching for the One. Sauron has taken the last dwarf ring from Thrain, who gives Gandalf the map and key to the Lonely Mountain before he dies, a perfect setup for The Hobbit story. Though none of it is in The Hobbit book, it is all laid out clearly in Appendix B of LOTR.
The next scene would be the meeting of the White Council in the following year. Gandalf urges an attack on Sauron. Saruman, who has begun to desire the ring, hopes it might reveal itself – seeking its master – provided its master is let be for a while. He overrules Gandalf and begins to search near the Gladden fields for the ring.
Now the title dissolves onto the screen: “90 years later.” Gandalf rides into the Shire much as he did at the beginning of FOTR after a similar setup using background from “Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age” published not in LOTR but in “The Silmarillion.” Anyone who was ok with the magnificent opening of Fellowship would hard pressed to complain about the same device in The Hobbit.
Sometime in the same year as Bilbo’s journey, the White Council meets again. Saruman agrees to an attack on Dol Goldur, since he now wishes to prevent Sauron from searching the river. Sauron, having planned to rebuild Barad-dur and refortify Mordor, abandons Dol Goldur. I would imagine Gandalf would have waited until Bilbo and company are safely out of Mirkwood, so this scene should happen after the barrel escape.
A cameo by Legolas in Thranduil’s halls would also make perfect sense. Unfortunately though, Aragorn was only 10 years old when Bilbo made his journey. He was being raised at Rivendell by Elrond, so he could make a brief appearance – but as a boy, not a man.
PJ has already stated his intention to include the activities of the White Council. Bravo. Let’s hope he does it right.
sarasota joe is spot on. In order to not blaspheme the book, you have to keep the timeline straight. I think that we all can agree that if this is done to be a cash cow instead of an amazing screen adaptation, as was LOTR, it will be an injustice
I was sloppy, though it changes not the thrust of my discussion. Re-reading my post I need to make a correction:
Peter Jackson had Arwen carry Frodo accross the Bruinen (Loudwater), not the Anduin, since obviously they were at Rivendell and had not yet crossed the Towers of Mist.
In the book, Arwen has not yet made an appearance, and instead Glorfindel gives the ailing Frodo some healing herbs and drink as well as his horse. Frodo, dizzy with fever, clings for dear life to Glorfindel’s horse, and is carried to safety as he passes out.
My point remains that if you consider this (and many greater changes in all three films, but especially the Two Towers) to be “respect for the source material,” then you should have no problem with several scenes in The Hobbit expanding the following:
1. The history of the Dwarves in Erebor and Thrain’s imprisonment by Sauron as told to the company at the end of the first chapter of the Hobbit by Thorin and Gandalf (with some slight help from the LOTR Appendix B to flesh it out).
2. The activities of The White Council during the time of Bilbo’s journey as detailed in Appendix B of LOTR.
These additions would show “respect for the source material” in a way that rearranging characters, locations, and attitudes (Faramir at Ithilien for example) do not. They would place The Hobbit squarely in the context of the larger Tolkien legendarium, and be marvelous celluloid to boot.
Cheers,
Sarasota Joe
Thanks Ring Reader. I think going for a cash cow is probably inevitable. Maybe they can make an amazing screen adaptation as well.
Everything that Peter Jackson has talked about, so far, can be backed up and supported with the LOTR Appendix work that Tolkien established. They mention the White COuncil’s battle with the Necromancer (Later revealed to be Sauron’s returning spirit) which serve as a backbone for Peter Jackson to build upon. We never got specifics about those events and that is called, “artistic opportunity.” However Jackson and Del Toro want to color those moments is up to them, frankly.
I have read all of your comments and I hope and believe that PJ and del toro will give those who want it a cash cow while still creating a wonderful screen adaptation which is true to the full Tolkien source material (see sarasota joes comments above) and may include some tasteful camios which truly fit and that is fine by me. P.S. I hope they include tom bobindale (sp?).
@sarasotajoe
I agree with all of your comments. Jackson obviously adjusted the source material as he saw fit, and I am completely okay with him doing that again on The Hobbit, because he always stayed true to Tolkien’s vision and tone.
The one aspect you mentioned that I was completely in support of was having Arwen be the one to take Frodo to Rivendell. There is a SERIOUS lack of strong female characters in LoTR. Most of the characters are archetypes, Eowyn being the only one that actually has any character at all (and that’s because she’s not truly “female” but I digress). I thought it was inspired of Jackson to give the films some depth and equality by making Arwen a strong character that still fit completely into her character from the books. That was a necessary change.
The one change I did not agree with (and this was the only thing that I truly did not like about the movies, which is saying something) was Jackson’s slight butchering of Faramir. What I loved about him in the books is that he never has any intention of taking the ring to his father. He is a better man than his brother, and he understands the burden that is on Frodo and that the Ring could never be wielded by man. I understand that Jackson was trying to convey the point that every person that comes in contact with the Ring will be tempted by it, and at the same time show how much Faramir wants to impress his father, but I was upset that it cast Faramir in a little less favorable light than in the books.