Update: James Nesbitt has reportedly been offered the role of Bofur, one of three dwarves — along with Bifur and Bombur — who join Bilbo Baggins and Thorin Oakenshield on their quest. Oakenshield was, of course, the role being linked to the likes of Australian veteran actor Jack Thompson and Brian Cox.
After months and months of speculation and innuendo, it’s taken a mere few hours after being greenlit for word about casting to spill for Peter Jackson’s much troubled, long anticipated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit.”
Deadline are reporting that British television star Martin Freeman (“The Office,” “Sherlock”) is set to take up the iconic role of Bilbo Baggins with James Nesbitt already offered an unnamed role and Michael Fassbender and David Tennant currently begin pursued. The cast is also expected to see Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis return to their original roles as Gandalf and Gollum.
Freeman has been long linked to the role and, most recently, rued the missed opportunity to take on Baggins due to scheduling conflicts with his BBC modern reimagining of the ‘Sherlock Holmes’ tale. It seems like those very conflicts are being worked out however, freeing the actor up for the no doubt life changing role.
Nesbitt, on the other hand, has already reportedly received an offer to join the film in an unnamed role while Tennant — who saw rumors linking him with the part of Bilbo for years — may eventually join the project in another role, should the reported initial interest come through. The actor is slowly finding his way across the Atlantic after playing the iconic titular character in “Doctor Who” for years, and will be seen in Craig Gillespie’s “Fright Night” remake next year.
Fassbender has already been fast tracking his way to Hollywood stardom after groundbreaking roles in “Hunger,” “Fish Tank” and “Inglourious Basterds” but joining “The Hobbit” would definitely take him to the next level. But like Tennant, whether the early interest follows through remains to be seen. Either way, an exciting future lies ahead for the actor, who’ll soon be seen starring in Cary Fukunaga’s “Jane Eyre” along side Mia Wasikowska, David Cronenberg’s “A Dangerous Method” with former Middle Earther Viggo Mortensen and Matthew Vaughn’s star-studded “X-Men: First Class.”
News of the casting developments came almost immediately after the project finally earned the greenlight from the studio (via a deal between Warner Bros. and MGM), firming February 2011 as the start date with Peter Jackson officially at the helm and gunning for a Christmas 2012 and 2013 3D release date. And despite the recent production troubles Jackson has faced with the New Zealand unions over working conditions, a resolution is expected in the next week or two, with Warner Bros. already making plans to move the production if required. Any significant plan change like that, though, will likely throw another curveball at the already troubled production; hopefully Jackson and New Zealand film authorities can settle their differences.