Ian Holm will indeed return to "The Hobbit" as the older Bilbo Baggins, director Peter Jackson announced on his Facebook page Friday.
Martin Freeman stars as young Bilbo in the big-budget adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic novel. The younger actor's voice on a recent video blog apparently confused some people, Jackson wrote on Facebook.
In fact, even Jackson thought Freeman sounded an awful lot like Holm.
On his Facebook page, the director wrote:
Also read: Gollum, Gandalf on Board for Peter Jackson's 'The Hobbit'
"One comment that came up from the recent video blog was the Bilbo voice at the end—many of you assumed it was Sir Ian Holm. Whilst Ian will be returning as the older Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, that recording was actually Martin Freeman's voice, taken from a script read through we recorded when the cast first arrived. I have to admit, I wasn't sure who it was when I first heard it, either. Cheers, Peter J"
Holm played the role in 2001's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" and 2003's "The Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King." He was nominated for the Oscar for best supporting actor for his role in the 1981 "Chariots of Fire."
"The Hobbit" is scheduled for release on Dec. 19, 2012, with a second film "Hobbit" film due about a year later.
Warner Bros. is fully financing the movie and will distribute the MGM co-production worldwide.
The movie also stars Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Ian McKellen and Christopher Lee.