Following continuous delays, New Zealand has once again been transformed into Middle Earth as filming for J.R.R Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ has been underway since March 21st. Despite this, new cast members continue to be added to the ever-growing list, the latest of which are Luke Evans and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Luke Evans, who played Apollo in ‘Clash of the Titans’, will adopt the role of Bard the Bowman, the “grim-voiced and grim-faced” man, who in defending Laketown heroically slays Smaug the dragon.
In a move that is becoming increasingly common, but saw it’s first major success in Peter Jackson’s ‘The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy’ with the CGI characterisation of Gollum, Smaug the Dragon will also be a CGI creation, voiced and performed by British ‘Sherlock Holmes’ actor Benedict Cumberbatch.
That’s not all; Cumberbatch will also lend his voice to bad guy Necromancer who later becomes the fiery Sauron (it’s complicated…).
Cumberbatch and Evans will join existing familiar faces Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, and Orlando Bloom.
Finally, for those not up to date (probably the majority considering the incessant toing and froing concerning the movie direction), ‘The Hobbit’ has been left in the trustful hands of Peter Jackson, the man responsible for adapting ‘The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy’ to the big screen and introducing Tolkien to the masses.
‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ and ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again’ are due for release in 2012 and 2013 respectively.
