Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett is set to return to Middle-earth, as the Oscar-winning actress will reprise her "Lord of the Rings" role as Galadriel, the Lady of Lothlorien in Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit," New Line, Warner Bros. and MGM announced on Tuesday.
Ken Stott, Mikael Persbrandt, Ryan Gage, William Kircher, "Dr. Who" star Sylvester McCoy and "Lord of the Rings" actor Jed Brophy have also joined the cast of the epic, two-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved novel.
Stott ("Charlie Wilson's War") will play the Dwarf Lord Balin, while Brophy and Kircher will play the dwarves Nori and Bifur, respectively.
Gage has been cast as Drogo Baggins and Persbrandt will play the shape-shifter Beorn, while McCoy will play the wizard Radagast the Brown.
Production is scheduled to begin in February 2011, and Jackson will direct both movies back-to-back from a script he co-wrote with Fran Walsh, Phiippa Boyens and Guillermo del Toro.
Jackson and Walsh are producing the films with Carolynne Cunningham, while Boyens will co-produce and Jackson's manager, Ken Kamins, will exec produce with Zane Weiner.
"The Hobbit" stars Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, while James Nesbitt, Richard Armitage, Aidan Turner, Rob Kazinsky, Graham McTavish, John Callen, Stephen Hunter, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton and Adam Brown co-star.
The "Hobbit" movies will be filmed in 3D and are scheduled for release in December 2012 and December 2013.
