Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens join Guillermo Del Toro penning 'The Hobbit'

wurst Wed, Aug 27, 2008 at 09:11 AM EST

NOT Ian Holm. The man is nearly 70 years old

Paul Wed, Aug 27, 2008 at 07:09 AM EST

Ian Holm as Bilbo pleaseeeee!!!

Allen Clark Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 08:57 PM EST

I have been following the story since day one and got my hands on an early sneak preview version of the film a couple years ago.With all the talk that has been surrounding the opening and closing of this epic to finaly happen.

Kevin Hicks Sun, Aug 24, 2008 at 12:25 PM EST

Supposedly, according to Jackson and company, The Hobbit, itself, will be one movie, ending with the battle of five armies. The second movie will fill up the space between the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and probably introduce, or flesh out the story of some of the LOTR's principal characters, like Legolas, Aragorn, Gimili, etc., and touch on Sauron's rise to power, after his imprisonment, and escape in the Hobbit.

smaug Sat, Aug 23, 2008 at 11:34 PM EST

I'm glad, finally lol. I'm couldn't be more exited

Fri, Aug 22, 2008 at 12:21 PM EST

Ian Holm for Bilbo!

Jeff Fri, Aug 22, 2008 at 08:04 AM EST

Jackson has been very good at retaining as much as he could of the source material for LOTR. The fact that he is making Hobbit it two installments makes it appear that he will retain more of the entire story line and not leave out things like Tom Bombadil in LOTR.

john Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 08:25 PM EST

in an on-line interview with jackson & del toro they said the 1st film would pretty much cover the hobbit storyline with alot of attention on smaug the dragon & the 2nd film would bridge the 60 years inbetween the hobbit & the fellowship of the ring which is how lotr characters could fit into the 2nd film plus giving an opportunity to incorporate other tolkien mythology & give jackson & walsh room to stretch creatively; i'm really happy jackson is getting more involved because imo del toro's strength is his visionary visual style ala hellboy 2 but doesn't hold a screenwriting candle to jackson & partner fran walsh

Hobbit Toes Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 08:09 PM EST

I'm told that the reason for two movies is to allow the writers/director to embellish on the story of Gandalf and his fellow wizards meeting up with the Necromancer (aka Sauron) and the battle they hold with him. This, I understand from the books, is when Saruman begins his path to the "dark side" which fruition we see in LOTR. I am excited to see what Peter et al can do with this aspect of the story.

JackSparrow Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 06:57 PM EST

You people are blowing one sentence WAY out of proportion. Do you realize that? Do you? DO YOU??? The finding of the ring is what links The Hobbit to Lord of the Rings. Get it? RINGs? Jeez, you people are hopeless.

J. Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 05:28 PM EST

Watch out for a huge, overblown war for the Battle of the Five Armies. I see siege towers, massive catapults, hordes of Goblins and Michael Bay-esque explosions. It'll horrible.

ET Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 04:16 PM EST

Legolas isn't in the Hobbit, but his father is.....

HotSoup Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 03:00 PM EST

Too bad the world is going to end a week after the release of the second one. No extended edition DVD...

Thomas Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 12:37 PM EST

Wow, you guys are not getting it. Though Joeblo can't type well enough to get his point across he's not totally wrong. The main focus of the Hobbit was about Bilbo's adventure with the Dwarves. When Tolkein first wrote the Hobbit (long before the LOTR) he didn't imagine yet what the ring actually was going to be. I'm sure that del Torro, Jackson, and company with put a little more emphasis on the ring without deviating from main story too much. So though the main story isn't about the finding of the ring, making Joelbo right about that, it is a huge part of the continued story. Joeblo please use spell check or something, your posts are even more obnoxious when you can't understand what you're writing.

StaleCake Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 12:33 PM EST

Nonsense, eveyone -- the story is about GANDALF. He is so freaking cool -- everyone send well wishes and Echinacea to Ian McKellen -- he will MAKE these movies.

joebloe Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 12:16 PM EST

so u have cynicism in ur vast vocabulary but not sarcasm?

i'm well aware of the format of the 2 movies. the article didnt state movie 1 and movie 2, it stated the hobbit as a whole. all i was stating is that the MAIN plotline is not about the ring, and i know that peter jackson stays true to the source material but i guess sarcasm doesn't come off as well in writing, huh?

mike Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 11:58 AM EST

Hey JBlow:
Two movies. Part one will end with him finding the ring and escaping Gollum. Part two will end with Smaug and the war. A little imagination and a basic understanding that books and movies are two different formats would appease your cynicism.

Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 11:52 AM EST

just because that was the articles discription doesn't mean that's what it is
peter jackson has stayed very true to the books

joebloe Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 10:14 AM EST

so ur trying to say they're going to deviate away from the storyline of the book and make the movie more about the ring? right.... that's just like something peter jackson would do

JackSparrow Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 09:35 AM EST

Joeblow: But read the article again. They're talking about The Hobbit the MOVIE, not the BOOK. Hello????

joeblo Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 09:12 AM EST

jack, yea i never daid he doesnt find the ring, i just said that's not what the story's centered on. yea your right, one chapter, not the whole book. the ring didnt become a focal plotline until the lotr trilogy.

JackSparrow Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 09:09 AM EST

joeblo: Uh, what book were you reading? The Hobbit DOES center around Bilbo's finding of the ring DUUUUHHHHHH!!!!! What, did you miss that big ol' chapter in Gollum's cave, you know, Riddles in the Dark? Ring a bell?

joeblo Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 08:59 AM EST

wow,u'd figure ew would know about the story, how does it center around bilbo but not about him finding the immensely powerful ring, it centers around smaug and the treasure. great research work there ew!

Lise Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 08:29 AM EST

Shona, you are right. He DOES look like Dominic Monaghan.

Joy Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 07:19 AM EST

Hahahahahaha! This is the best piece of news I've heard all week. It makes my day! I'm glad Jackson got the last laugh when the studio came crawling back to him and his team, after making a big spectacle out of not wanting him to direct this movie. I know Del Toro is loved by many, but I still wish Jackson was at the helm.
It's going to be a great script!

Fusey Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 05:40 AM EST

I'm proud to be a nerd :-)

Shona Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 01:18 AM EST

Oh, crap. I better stay away from my Tolkien sites now; the outrage over this development will hurt my brain.

Wait... is that Peter Jackson nowadays? He's looking an awful lot like Dominic Monaghan in "Lost". ;)

Rahul Tue, Aug 19, 2008 at 08:20 PM EST

I'm really frakkin' happy about this.

J. Tue, Aug 19, 2008 at 04:51 PM EST

If they keep it true to Tolkien's works (even his lesser known works and appendices), I'll be happy. But don't rewrite too much of it. The stories were all brilliant in print once--it can be as well on celluloid.

Legolas Greenleaf Tue, Aug 19, 2008 at 03:42 PM EST

Spenne: LOTR borrowed from other sources. There was dialogue and set pieces that came from work outside of ‘Lord of the Rings,’ or took from the appendices. Nearly all of Aragorn’s romance with Arwen was drawn from Tolkien’s appendices and retroactively inserted into the Ring narrative. A similar ploy could be used to bring Aragorn back for Bilbo’s journey (or, perhaps more appropriately, to surround and follow Bilbo’s journey), since Tolkien provided an extensive backstory for the once and future king of Middle Earth in his other writings. And Thranduil figures in The Hobbit, so a cameo by Orlando as Legolas is not unreasonable. You killjoy.

Jackson himself commented on some of these potential plot lines in an interview last September with AICN, where he talked about how he’d “love to work with Viggo again [possibly by having] Aragorn protecting the Shire.”

Tyler Tue, Aug 19, 2008 at 03:20 PM EST

as long as legolas doesn't surf on a shield through any battles, yay...though the more I think of it, the more I remember that the screenplay adaptation was actually my least favorite thing about the LotR movies...but whatever! I refuse to be picky fanboy! yay!

The second movie, the in-between one, is a great idea! All the outline is there, in appendices and backstory told by (as I remember) Gandalf. Aragorn would absolutely be part of it - the hunt for Gollum - as well as lot of other familiar characters including the Elves from Lothlorien. Legolas and others would be a little harder to explain given that they are apparently meeting for the first time at the Council of Elrond.

Ryan Tue, Aug 19, 2008 at 02:48 PM EST

Spenner, I think he's talking about the second movie, which happens between The Hobbit and the LOTR Trilogy

Emily Tue, Aug 19, 2008 at 01:58 PM EST

Whoo hoo! I'm so excited, I don't know how I'll possibly wait until 2011... I wonder if it's too late to start a career in something related to movie-making so I can go join them...?

Nerds Tue, Aug 19, 2008 at 01:54 PM EST

Nerds, nerds, nerds, nerds!

Spenner Tue, Aug 19, 2008 at 01:28 PM EST

*** Hey, Legolas Greenleaf ***
How can you be looking for a faithful version of the book, and also want Legolas & Aragorn in the movie, who aren't in The Hobbit? But Elrond (Hugo Weaving!) is.

Legolas Greenleaf Tue, Aug 19, 2008 at 01:20 PM EST

Hooray, some good news in the wake of the Harry Potter movie delay debacle. Now we're guaranteed to have a faithful version of this book on film. Just a tiny request from a humble fan: please bring Viggo and Orlando back to join Ian McKellan in reprising their roles. PLEASE!!!!

FM Tue, Aug 19, 2008 at 01:15 PM EST

And so it was that the world let out a collective nerd-gasm.

Amen.