Orlando Bloom Discusses a Return to The Hobbit
Posted 04.08.11 by Ryan
The upcoming, two-part adaptation of The Hobbit has opened up opportunities for characters from the
Lord of the Rings trilogy to return to director Peter Jackson's Middle-Earth. Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's novel know that the return of Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Andy Serkis as Gollum are necessary to the book's plot, but not the respective returns of Cate Blanchett and Elijah Wood as Galadriel and Frodo Baggins, two characters who don't appear in the original Hobbit novel.
Another Lord of the Rings character that could return, despite his exclusion in Tolkien's novel, is Legolas, the elven archer played by Orlando Bloom in the previous trilogy. Bloom admitted over a year ago that he would "be honored" to play Legolas again, and, in December, a report had Bloom "near a deal" to return for The Hobbit. Bloom has remained unconfirmed, but in a recent interview with Collider, admitted that a return could be imminent.
Yeah, it’s looking like that. I’m really excited about going to see Pete [Jackson] again. It’s still a little up in the air, but the idea of working with Pete is fantastic. I can’t actually really talk too much about it, at this point. I just was given the script to piece through, so it’s quite exciting.
Bloom says he was given the entire script and that his preparation for the role would be as easy as growing "my hair really long and blonde again."
Bloom is still not a lock to return, but being given the entire script seems to indicate that Legolas has been written into it by Jackson and Hobbit co-screenwriters Fran Walsh, Guillermo del Toro, and Philippa Boyens. A deal for Bloom needs to be completed soon, since The Hobbit is already shooting in New Zealand.
The Hobbit will follow young Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and his journey to "burgle" treasure from the lair of a dragon named Smaug. Bilbo is aided by a band of dwarves and Gandalf, and, along the way, stumbles upon the One Ring and Gollum.
Next Showing: The first installment of
The Hobbit is scheduled to open in December 2012