The Lord of The Rings is one of the greatest cinematic trilogies ever made. It’s up there with the Original Star Wars Trilogy in terms of epic-ness (But not the new ones… damn you Lucas you no-neck/no talent Jar Jar Maker).
So yah, the awesome Sir Ian McKellen (he’s a real life knight!), who we all know as the benevolent Wizard Gandalf has personally confirmed the news on his official website. In fact, there he states that shooting on The Hobbit will start shooting this summer.
As with all epic projects, it will be a long shoot lasting up to a year. Like the other installments, it will be filmed in New Zealand
For those weary of a prequel, McKellen tries to sooth your soul by mentioning that “the first draft is crammed with old and new friends, again on a quest in Middle Earth.” These include Andy Serkis as Gollum and Hugo Weaving as Elrond, plus other members of the Rings trilogy cast are expected to return (hopefully just the ones that make sense).
Despite this news from the actor, A New Line spokeswoman told Variety that no start date has yet been set. So yes, he has took it upon himself to spill the magic beans…
Director Guillermo del Toro will apparently be taking the wheel on this one, while Peter Jackson (who directed the Lord of the Rings), is overseeing the script as a producer. The idea here is to divide J.R.R. Tolkein’s novel into two parts as we follow the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and a mysterious ring that makes him invisible (what ring can that be I wonder?!).
Filming of the first instalment of The Hobbit is expected to take a year and could be released as early as 2012 (hopefully before the world ends).
Here’s the intro to the 1977’s animated Hobbit feature… just to get you in the mood..
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