Peter Jackson has shared new set pics with Entertainment Weekly to give fans a first look at Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins and Ian McKellen reprising his role as Gandolf. The images show how Freeman has been transformed into a hobbit wearing the ears and feet to complete the character. The background shows some of the other characters, though for now we’ve only got close-ups of the two actors with Peter Jackson on set. Lost star Evangeline Lilly recently joined the cast as Tauriel a Woodland Elf, along with Barry Humphries who’ll be playing the Goblin King via motion capture.
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Peter Jackson spoke with EW about Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins:
He fits the ears, and he’s got some very nice feet, I think he’s got the biggest hobbit feet we’ve had so far. They’re a little bit hard to walk in, but he’s managed to figure out the perfect hobbit gait.
As for Ian McKellen, Jackson had this to say:
He’s in fantastic form, In a way, his role in The Hobbit has more technical difficulties than Lord of the Rings did, because he has scenes with 14 smaller characters — obviously the dwarves and the hobbit are shorter… I remember saying to him [laughs],’Look, this isn’t Waiting for Godot or King Lear. This is The Hobbit. This is the real thing.
Via his Facebook page, Jackson gave an update on the production of The Hobbit:
We’ve finished our first block of shooting and moved straight into location scouting. More on that soon… But today, I’m thrilled to announce two new cast members who will be joining us for our second block of shooting.Evangeline Lilly will be playing a new character—the Woodland Elf, Tauriel. Her name means ‘daughter of Mirkwood’ and, beyond that, we must leave you guessing! (No, there is no romantic connection to Legolas.) What is not a secret is how talented and compelling an actress Evangeline is; we are thrilled and excited she will be the one to bring our first true Sylvan Elf to life.I’m also highly excited that Barry Humphries will be portraying the Goblin King, in much the way Andy Serkis created Gollum. Barry is perhaps best known for his business and social connections as the long-time manager of Dame Edna Everage. He has also been an ardent supporter of the rather misunderstood and unfairly maligned Australian politician, Sir Les Patterson. However, in his spare time, Barry is also a fine actor, and we’re looking forward to seeing him invest the Goblin King with the delicate sensitivity and emotional depth this character deserves.Evangeline and Barry, along with Welsh actor Luke Evans as Bard and Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug, just about rounds out the major casting. I cannot wait to get stuck into these new scenes!
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will open December 14th, 2012, the second part The Hobbit: There and Back Again arrives December 13th, 2013.
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