Hobbit Casting Announcements
No, this really has nothing to do with Narnia. But as Lewis and Tolkien were such good friends, and so many Narnia fans are also Middle-earth fans, we thought we’d let you know that the first official casting announcements were made tonight for The Hobbit — starting with Martin Freeman who will be playing Bilbo Baggins. You can see the full list on TheOneRing.net or the New Zealand Herald.
I love Martin Freeman!! He was great in Shawn of the Dead and in Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy. He'll make a great Bilbo Baggins!
I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy he got the part! Now I can change my signature from "Martin Freeman should play Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit" to "So Happy Martin Freeman is playing Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit"! Thanks so much for posting this on NarniaWeb! theonering.net just broke down, so some people here might not have gotten the news if they hadn't been able to read it here.
cool martin freeman…i just recently watched him in the tv series, sherlock and he is fantastic at acting….and he will definitely bring Bilbo Baggins to life…BRING IT ON!!!…
I'm so happy for Richard Armitage, he's a brilliant actor!
I've only read Fellowship of the Ring in my whole life…only interaction with LotR. But I'm starting to get into the series. Maybe I'll be far enough to watch the Hobbit when it comes out…but the actor looks like the perfect part.
huh, cool
My personal opinion – Martin is going to make a *perfect* Bilbo Baggins! Even his face is hobbit-like!
SCREAM! Thornton (from BBC North and South) is playing Thorin?!?!? Peter Jackson, you rock!
Hmm, looks like a good choice for smaug though. Isn't that the dude that was almost Reep and then they changed it to Simon Pegg?
I have no idea who Martin Freeman is, only that he's playing Bilbo. He looks like a hobbit, and looks enough like what's his face… Ian Holmes to play a young Bilbo. Whoohoo! I can NOT wait for the hobbit to come out! I'm so glad Jackson got the director's chair. I'm much happier and feel much safer about the movie. I'd die if anyone else did it. And so glad Shore is doing the music!
Whoohoo for Tolkien and Lewis! And it's very fitting to post this news here (I wouldn't have seen it for a while) becasue I picked up some new LotR Histories books and Tolkien was always having 'Mr. Lewis' go over his first drafts of LotR. Thanks for sharing, Narniaweb! 🙂
I know! I was so stoked when I saw that! He did a great job in North and South and in the Robin Hood TV show.
I am really glad they have Bill Nighy as Smaug, I love him as actor and it is a relief that they are going to have Smaug talk rather than just be some dumb witless animal. He has an awesome voice too.
Guess he won't be Rilian then!… i think a few people had him down on their list of candidates for that role 🙂
Jiggity-jiggity-slide-jiggity! (That's the sound of me dancing). Martin Freeman is THE actor I wanted for the role. So happy right now! Congrats to him and the rest of the cast.
Awesome! I Really need to watch & read the LoTR!
YAY!!!!!
Ahhhh!!! *dances* They all look great! Martin Freeman looks PERFECT!!! 😀 I'm so happy that they're finally getting somewhere with The Hobbit! Thanks for posting this (even though it has nothing to do with Narnia 😉 )!
Great choice! He was an okay Arthur Dent, but he should be a fantastic Bilbo.
Bill Nighy has apparently auditioned for the voice of Smaug.
yes! this must mean that the movie's back on! because i had read that news thing that it was being stopped, and i got really worried. but now im very excited! i cannot wait 😀
I had hoped he'd be Rilian too… but I like it that he's in the Hobbit. He deserves it. Especially after his awesome role as Mr. Thornton! 🙂
I won't judge him until I hear him say Bilbo's lines then I might like him but I don't know quite yet.
no way,I thought the ring was defeated in the return oof the king
Oh sweet! It's funny, Martin Freeman does kinda look like Bilbo really young. 🙂 And I'm so glad Bill Nighy will be the voice of Smaug! It almost fits perfectly! I think this movie will be casted great. 😀
Um, it did. The Hobbit is the story of how Bilbo Baggins first FOUNDED the One Ring. 🙂
Wait…Richard Armitage is in it? NO WAY!!! That's awesome! 😀 He's like the best ever.
I only know Martin Freeman from "The Office", so I never would've pictured him as Bilbo. I'm sure he'll turn out to be a great choice though. 🙂
I would rather Justin Chatwin as Rilian anyways 🙂
The Hobbit is the prequel to LotR.
maybe the WW is trying to use the ring and come *back* in Middle-Earth too! (okay, just joking! There is NO white witch in The Hobbit and it's before RotK) THe comment just made me think of all the movies dragging the WW back to the movie 🙂
You really should, they're excellent books. 😉 And yes, Martin Freeman will make an awesome Bilbo. 😀
Whoa wait, Shore is doing the music? *screams* That is so awesome! I love his music, and I own all three of the LOTR soundtracks. 😛 I must have missed that article on TORN though, this is the first I've heard of it. 😉
*snorks* I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not. 😛 But anyway, "The Hobbit" is the prequel to LOTR. It is partly about how the ring came into Bilbo's possession, but that is only a small fraction of the plot. 😉 You should read it to better understand the movie when it comes out!