http://www.comingsoon.net/news/hobbitnews.php?id=45413
Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro took some time to have an online chat and answer some questions concerning their production of the Hobbit films. It’s quite a lengthy read but if you are interested in the Lord of the Rings, you should definitely take a read.
Of interesting note:
– They got Ian McKellan back as Gandalf! Yay!
– They are expanding upon The Hobbit into two films. It’s an interesting concept to fathom as The Hobbit is definitely short enough to translate into one film. In explaining their motives to this, they wanted to integrate the two new films into the existing trilogy as much as they could so that it would flow for five films. That being said, the biggest reveal they had is that they are trying to integrate ALL the characters from the original trilogy into the second film (or part of the first if they could do that…). I find that quite interesting. I assumed that they would simply use the back material from the unfinished works of Tolkien to fill to expand on some material. When you think The Hobbit, you have to think it’s like the prequel trilogy of Star Wars. It takes place a few generations before Lord of the Rings. So if we do see the characters from the trilogy (Frodo, Legolas, Gimli), they would have to be considered a younger version…a MUCH younger version. I believe the second film will actually be closer in time to the trilogy than most people think. Unless they want Elijah Wood to be playing a 7 year old Hobbit!