Martin Freeman will indeed play Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit," with Richard Armitage as head dwarf Thorin Oakenshield, New Line and Warner Bros. announced Thursday.
Other castmembers — all of them to play dwarves — include Rob Kazinsky, Aidan Turner, Graham McTavish, John Callen, Stephen Hunter, Mark Hadlow and Peter Hambleton.
Ian McKellan and Andy Serkis are also expected to reprise their respective roles as the powerful wizard Gandalf and the wretch Gollum.
As TheWrap reported Sept. 8, Freeman will play Bilbo, the hero of the story, while Armitage will play Thorin, the leader of the Company of Dwarves which sets off to reclaim treasure from beneath the Lonely Mountain, where the thieving dragon Smaug awaits.
The two "Hobbit" films are scheduled for release in December 2012 and December 2013, and pre-production has been in full swing since TheWrap first reported that "The Hobbit" received its greenlight on Oct. 15.
"Despite the various rumours and speculation surrounding this role, there has only ever been one Bilbo Baggins for us,” said Jackson. "There are a few times in your career when you come across an actor who you know was born to play a role, but that was the case as soon as I met Martin. He is intelligent, funny, surprising and brave — exactly like Bilbo and I feel incredibly proud to be able to announce that he is our Hobbit.”
Jackson added that Armitage “is one of the most exciting and dynamic actors working on screen today and we know he is going to make an amazing Thorin Oakensheild. We cannot wait to start this adventure with him and feel very lucky that one of the most beloved characters in Middle-earth is in such good hands."
Rounding out the Company of Dwarves are Turner and Kazinsky, who play Kili and Fili, respectively.
Jackson comments "Rob is an extremely talented young actor with a huge career in front of him, I'm thrilled that he has agreed to take on the role of Fili. Besides his talent as an actor, Rob is also a champion sword fighter; I'm looking forward to seeing the damage he can do to a horde of marauding Goblins!" As for Turner, Jackson said he "is a wonderfully gifted young actor who hails from Ireland. I'm sure he will bring enormous heart and humor to the role of Kili."
The remaining dwarves will be played by McTavish as Dwalin; Callen as Oin; Hunter as Bombur; Hadlow as Dori; and Hambleton as Gloin.
The two "Hobbit" movies 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 Phillipa Boyens serving as co-producer and Ken Kamins as executive producer.
The Oscar-winning, critically acclaimed "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, also from the production team of Jackson, Walsh and Cunningham, grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box office. In 2003, “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.
