Orlando Bloom will return in 'The Hobbit'

Peter Jackson has confirmed that ‘Lord of the Rings’ star Orlando Bloom will be returning as elf warrior Legolas in ‘The Hobbit’.

Peter Jackson is confirming that Lord of the Rings star Orlando Bloom will indeed be reprising his role as Legolas in Jackson’s upcoming two-part adaptation of The Hobbit.

In unrelated news, a mysterious soundwave that experts are calling “the groan” was recorded just moments ago by Nasa satellites as it permeated the globe.

We kid of course: There are just as many fans of Bloom’s portrayal of Legolas as there are detractors – and there will certainly be a lot of fans all giddy about the thought of yet another actor from Lord of the Rings coming back for The Hobbit. Jackson broke the news via his Facebook page:

Ten years ago, Orlando Bloom created an iconic character with his portrayal of Legolas. I’m excited to announce today that we’ll be revisiting Middle Earth with him once more. I’m thrilled to be working with Orlando again. Funny thing is, I look older—and he doesn’t! I guess that’s why he makes such a wonderful elf.

On a side note, he’s totally right: Orlando Bloom does seem to age at an elf’s pace, no?

Considering how long the pointy-eared creatures in J.R.R. Tolkien’s world live, it was always assumed that Legolas would be included in The Hobbit – at least in a cameo role. In fact, news of Bloom being in final negotians for the film were leaking as far back as December. So no real surprises here. Also joining back in the fun are Hugo Weavingas the Elf leader Elrond, Sir Ian McKellen as the wizard Gandalf, and Andy Serkis as the CGI creature, Gollum.

In addition, Elijah Wood‘s character Frodo Baggins and Sir Ian Holm‘s character (and older Bilbo Baggins) are also returning for The Hobbit, hinting that the structure of the movie will be a sort of flashback, with an elder Bilbo and Frodo revisiting the tale of Bilbo’s adventure as a younger man. The story of The Hobbit is of course recorded in Bilbo’s famous yarn, “There and Back Again”.

This flashback structure leaves the door open for more Lord of the Rings alum to return, even though their characters aren’t necessarily a part of the original Hobbit novel (see:Cate Blanchett returning as Galadriel). Will we see characters like Viggo Mortensen’s Aragorn making an appearance? Stay tuned.

The Hobbit is currently filming. Part I will be in theaters December, 2012, with Par II following a year later.

Source: Peter Jackson’s Facebook Page

Kofi Outlaw blogs at Screen Rant.

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