Cate Blanchett officially returns as Galadriel in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit
Jackson, who directed all three Lord of the Rings films, will helm the two films back-to-back, telling the story of The Hobbit in two parts from a screenplay by Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Guillermo del Toro.
Cate Blanchett (Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) will reprise her role from Lord of the Rings trilogy as Galadriel, the Lady of Lothlorien. Ken Stott (Charlie Wilson's War, TV's Rebus) will play the Dwarf Lord Balin, Sylvester McCoy (TV's Doctor Who) will play the wizard Radagast the Brown and well-known Swedish actor, Mikael Persbrandt (Everlasting Moments) will play the shape-shifter Beorn. British actor Ryan Gage (Outlaw, TV's Doctors) will play Drogo Baggins, with New Zealand actors Jed Brophy (Lord of the Rings trilogy, District 9) playing the role of the dwarf Nori, and William Kircher (Out of the Blue; TV's Legend of the Seeker) rounding out the company of Thorin Oakensheild in role of the dwarf Bifur.
Peter Jackson welcomed the news of Cate Blanchett's return to Middle-earth "Cate is one of my favorite actors to work with and I couldn't be more thrilled to have her reprise the role she so beautifully brought to life in the earlier films." On the casting of Scottish actor Ken Stott, Jackson commented "Fran and I have long been fans of Ken's work and are excited he will be joining us on this journey." Jackson also welcomed the addition to the cast of Swedish actor, Mikael Persbrandt, saying, "The role of Beorn is an iconic one and Mikael was our first choice for the part. Since seeing him read for the role we can't imagine anyone else playing this character."
The actors join the previously announced cast including Martin Freeman (TV's Sherlock, Breaking and Entering) as Bilbo Baggins, Richard Armitage (upcoming Captain America: The First Avenger), Aidan Turner (TV's Being Human), Robert Kazinsky (TVs EastEnders), Graham McTavish (Secretariat), John Callen (TV's Power Rangers Jungle Fury), Stephen Hunter (TV's All Saints), Mark Hadlow (King Kong) and Peter Hambleton (TV's The Strip). Additional cast announcements include James Nesbitt (Millions and TV's Cold Feet) and newcomer Adam Brown.
Since The Hobbit films received a green light on October 15, pre-production has been in full swing with release dates targeted for December, 2012 and December, 2013. Jackson will utilize groundbreaking visual effects and his incomparable storytelling to bring J.R.R. Tolkien's novel to the big screen. Both Hobbit movies will be filmed in Digital 3-D, using the latest camera and stereo technology to create a high quality, comfortable viewing experience.
The two films are being co-produced by New Line Cinema and MGM, with New Line managing production, Warner Bros Pictures handling domestic distribution and MGM distributing internationally.
Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Carolynne Cunningham are producing the films, with co-writer Philippa Boyens serving as co-producer and Ken Kamins and Zane Weiner as executive producers. The Oscar-winning, critically acclaimed Lord of the Rings trilogy, also from the production team of Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Carolynne Cunningham, grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box office.. In 2003, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return of The King swept the Academy Awards, winning all of the 11 categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture - the first ever Best Picture win for a fantasy film. The trilogy's production was also unprecedented at the time.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey comes to theaters December 14th, 2012 and stars Cate Blanchett, Saoirse Ronan, Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood, Martin Freeman, David Tennant, Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee. The film is directed by Peter Jackson.
Comments (21)
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Josh
@Todd89: They are. That's how they're beefing up the story to cover two films, and why they've cast Radagast the Brown.
1 year agoby @shuabertFlag
Shadow Of The Day
Great.
1 year agoby @asifFlag
Mutant
Not complaining, observing is more likely, but I looked it up a number of characters are referenced in the book after all. It's been a while since I read the Hobbit.
Actually Gandalf disappears then returns at pivical moments in the book, I sure hope the film follows his side quests as well.
1 year agoby @zenderFlag
Josh
Yeah, I have no problem with them bringing her back. It's cool too that they've cast Beorn, one of the big characters left that they hadn't announced yet. I don't know most of these actors, but I haven't been let down by Jackson's casting yet.
1 year agoby @shuabertFlag
Dan
@K-Man Absolutely, man. Amen.
1 year agoby @dan1Flag
K-Man
@Todd89 - What exactly are you complaining about......and why? They are expanding the universe more than Tolkien did with the book, at least in terms of continuity that bridges the gaps, and they are doing it to better the story. By the way, they do reference characters seen in LOTR aside from Gandalf....Elrond for one. If Elrond is seen in Rivendell then it only makes sense to see Arwen and Aragorn too. Thranduil the Elven King has a major part in the film and considering he is referenced to be the father of Legolas....again, its a perfect opportunity to bring Legolas back, even if it is for a small scene.
Gimli references Gloin as his father in LOTR.....who is now a major character. He also references Balin as his cousin.
Considering Cate's character is thousands of years old, and this story takes place only sixty years before LOTR, I'd say there is a pretty damn good chance these characters would run into her at some point.
SO stop complaining. It's going to be that much better of a movie BECAUSE the characters will be flushed out even more than they already have.
1 year agoby @k-manFlag
The Narrator: The Better Man
As we say in Hawaii, "Cheee-hooo!"
1 year agoby @narratorFlag
Mutant
The book is called the Hobbit, there isn't any reference to the characters in LOTR trilogy except Gandolf. So bringing in familiar faces like Cate is just stupid, come to think about it I will read the book once again to see if she's really there.
1 year agoby @zenderFlag
Lane
That's great!
1 year agoby @lane1Flag
Vamp
Awesome! :D I love how everyone is returning.
1 year agoby @vampire2000Flag
ejk1
Anything with Blanchett is a score in my book.
1 year agoby @ejk1Flag
Worth5Bucks
Ah Cate. One of the few female Protagonist that have never bugged me. Very strong willed.
1 year agoby @mattbierwagenFlag
Diaigma
Perfect. This news just made my day :P
1 year agoby @diaigmaFlag
Red Camera Man
Welcome back, Cate! :-)
1 year agoby @redcameramanFlag
Dan
Awesome news! She was a majestic elf, glad she's back.
1 year agoby @dan1Flag
LuxoIII
2 down (McKellen, Blanchett) 2 to go (Andy Serkis, Hugo Weaving)
1 year agoby @brady1138Flag
Brian
Sooooooo stoked!
1 year agoby @brianFlag
JonSpidey07
yes
bringing back the old cast members is definitely a plus :)
1 year agoby @jonspidey07Flag
K-Man
What an absolute bummer in regards to the casting of Balin! What the hell ever happened to Brian Blessed being cast????????
That is so crap, Blessed would have been so much better!
The other casting decisions are great, though. Good to hear that Blanchett is back! I'm not at all surprised to hear Jed Brophy is cast in a major role considering he has had some form of a role in every single one of Peter Jacksons films to date, whether it big or small.
Sylvester McCoy already confirmed that he was playing Radagast, so really no surprise there.....but still good to hear. I hope he does well with the part, I'm quite anxious to see his take on it.
The other roles cast sound good, even though I dont know a few of those actors. Look forward to seeing what they can do as well.
I guess all we (or I) can do at this point is hope that Blessed gets cast as King Dain of the Iron Hills. If not, then it would be a complete waste of Blessed's talent, who was born to play a dwarf!!
1 year agoby @k-manFlag
Tronticon
Yup... cant wait!!
1 year agoby @tronticonFlag
Cripple
Awesome!
1 year agoby @crippleFlag