Martin Freeman has just been announced as Bilbo Baggins in prequel to Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit.
Deadline.com broke the news, while director Peter Jackson released the following statement about The Office star taking the role; "Despite the various rumours and speculation surround this role, there has only ever been one Bilbo Baggins for us." He then added, "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 also announced the casting of Richard Armitage (we'll see him in Captain America) as Thorin Oakenshield, while Rob Kazinsky (the goodlooking broody sort from Eastenders) will play Fili.
The main thing to be sorted out now is the location. There's still a lot of red tape to be resolved for them to shoot in New Zealand, so it could very well shoot in the UK. Wouldn't Ireland be a perfect substitute? Someone needs to get on that pronto...
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