Del Toro Reveals New Hobbit Details

In an interview with BBC Radio's Simon Mayo Show, The Hobbit Director Guillermo del Toro provided the first meaningful update about the production. Del Toro that a Andy Serkis (Gollum), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), and Hugo Weaving (Elrond) will all reprise their Lord of the Rings Trilogy roles. He also provided a few plot details.

the film will take some liberties with sub-plot material that is briefly discussed in the book. Most notably among this, is Gandalf's departure from Bilbo and the Dwarves to confer with The White Council in Dol Guldur on dealing with an entity called the Necromancer (which later turns out to be Sauron himself.) We've always suspected this based on some statements, but this time, the intention to document Gandalf's quest (which is not covered greatly in the book) was articulated clearly. This is an excellent move, and should make the "Hobbit to Lord of the Rings" transition seem all the more smooth. Hopefully, it will be done in such a way that even casual audiences will be able to make the connection.

Finally, regarding Smaug the Dragon, del Toro revealed that after eight whole months of design work, they have only just “cracked the basic engineering.” It is anticipated that another six or seven months of application will be needed before the great flying, fire-breathing, gold smuggler will be in any kind of presentable form. (Holy crap, he should look AMAZING!)