Just last week, we told you that director Peter Jackson had announced that British actor Robert Kazinsky (EastEnders, Red Tails), who was set to play Fili in the film has had to depart the production and head home for personal reasons.
Now, Jackson has announced that Lee Pace and Dean O’Gorman have joined the cast of The Hobbit. Pace will portray King Thranduil, while O’Gorman will take over the role of Fili.
Jackson said on his Facebook page:
“I’m very pleased to be welcoming two new cast members to our team.
Dean O’Gorman will be playing Fili. Dean’s a terrific Kiwi actor, who I am thrilled to be working with. He’s recently been in an excellent TV series down here called The Almighty Johnsons, and I should let fans of that show know that our shooting schedule allows Dean to continue with a second series next year. Dean will be joining us next week.
I’m also pleased to announce that Lee Pace will be playing the Elven King Thranduil. Casting these Tolkien stories is very difficult, especially the Elven characters, and Lee has always been our first choice for Thranduil. He’s going to be great. We loved his performance in a movie called The Fall a few years ago, and have been hoping to work with him since. When we were first discussing who would be right for Thranduil, Lee came into mind almost immediately.
It’s been a great week, and I’m looking forward to the next few. It’s going to be interesting…
More soon.
Cheers,
Peter J”
In other casting news for The Hobbit…
stuff.co.nz via TORN is reporting that Hobbit spokesperson Melissa Booth has confirmed that Hugo Weaving is returning to the role of Elrond.
“Hugo Weaving will reprise his role as Elrond the elf for the two-part Hobbit movie now being shot in Wellington. The Hobbit spokeswoman Melissa Booth confirmed that Weaving would feature in Jackson’s 3-D prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy.”
The announcement of Weaving came just days after director Peter Jackson posted the photo below on his Facebook page with the caption “An old friend came to visit me on set today…”
The Hobbit: Part 1 is currently slated to hit theaters December 2012.
The Hobbit: Part 2 is currently slated to hit theaters December 2013.
The films star Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Richard Armitage, Cate Blanchette, Elijah Wood, Hugo Weaving, Sylvester McCoy, Aidan Turner, Graham McTavish, John Callen, Ken Stott, Mikael Persbrandt, Ryan Gage, Jed Brophy, William Kircher, Stephen Hunter and Ian Holm.
