Saorise Ronan Out of the Hobbit

After a few months of rumors, Saorise Ronan has laid to rest the idea that she was going to join the cast of the Hobbit as the elf Itaril. From the Belfast Telegraph:

Saoirse revealed: "It's probably not going to work out with The Hobbit unfortunately.

"Because I would have been working for about a year on it and there were other projects that I was very interested in, but Pete and [his producer wife] Fran have been very good about it and very understanding.

"I'll have to just go back down to New Zealand for a holiday and hang out with the hobbits."

The comment of "working for about a year" suggests that Itaril is actually a major character in the film and not just a bit part which is very interesting considering the character isn't part of the Hobbit novel but a character rumored to have been made up by Peter Jackson and the writers. (via TheOneRing)