Peter Jackson confirms Legolas will return to Middle Earth!
 
  May 27, 2011 11:33:46 PM CDT  
 
 Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. While it's been rumored for what seems like two years now, Peter Jackson officially announced that Orlando Bloom will return to Middle Earth as everybody's favorite oliphant trunk surfing elf Legolas!
 
 I love bridging the continuity of the LOTR trilogy with The Hobbit. We know Elijah Wood is also returning... the only one left that I'm dying to find out about is Christopher Lee. I'd LOVE to see Saruman the White featured in this story, especially if they're going to expand upon what Gandalf is doing when he leaves the group at different points in their adventure.
 
 Here's Peter's Facebook post:
 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.

New Line, MGM, and Warner Brothers have announced that Peter Jackson's HOBBIT films are titled THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, to be released December 14, 2012, and THE HOBBIT: THERE AND BACK AGAIN, to be released December 13, 2013.
 
 The titles are very much from the books, and appropriate for the films, I'd say.  So much of the cast from THE LORD OF THE RINGS is returning - some of them who weren't in THE HOBBIT originally, but I trust Peter Jackson and I think he'll make the characters work in these films.  I'm especially curious to see Saruman (Christopher Lee) as it was around the time of THE HOBBIT that Saruman decided that he wanted the Ring for himself and it should be a quietly malevolent performance, Saruman plotting without Gandalf suspecting anything amiss at all.  Lee should be perfect at this.