Despite the fact that, er, his character wasn’t actually in JRR Tolkien’s original Hobbit book, you can expect to see Elijah Wood’s take on Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s two new film instalments.
Deadline first broke word of Wood being in talks to work on **The Hobbit late last week as part of a story about Warner Bros. taking over the whole cost of the films from MGM and, as part of the deal, distributing the result across the world both cinematically and on DVD/Blu-Ray/Brain Chip Download. MGM is hanging on to the international TV rights.
But now the site has updated with news that Wood has officially locked in a deal to appear. Which rather begs the question: just how will they squeeze Frodo into the story? Those of a spoiler-phobic nature will want to stop reading now.
The One Ring site has dug up apparent plans to see Frodo reading The Downfall of The Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit or There And Back Again, the two books written by Bilbo after his adventures, which were then passed as part of the Red Book of Westmarch (in the film, at least) to Frodo and Sam. So we’ll be experiencing Bilbo’s story as Frodo reads the book. Just don’t go expecting Wood to suddenly crop up chatting with Martin Freeman.
And while the site claims it has the info from several sources, we’d warn that everything is rumour until officially confirmed or, more likely, until the first clips surface.
Jackson is due to start filming the two movies next month with Wood, Freeman, Richard Armitage, Cate Blanchett, Sylvester McCoy, James Nesbitt, Mikael Persbrandt, Aidan Turner, Rob Kazinsky, Graham McTavish, John Callen, Stephen Hunter, Mark Hadlow, Ken Stott, Ryan Gages, Jed Brophy, William Kircher, Peter Hambleton, Adam Brown and half of New Zealand already aboard.
Still in the rumour/”talks” stage? Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis, apparently, though we can’t see Jackson recasting their vital roles, David Tennant (stuck in rumour limbo, we're afraid) and Orlando Bloom, who may yet return as Legolas.