It’s official: EW has confirmed that Elijah Wood will reprise his role as Frodo Baggins in the upcoming bigscreen version of The Hobbit. If you’re a J.R.R. Tolkien fan, the initial response is probably: “How?” For one thing, Frodo doesn’t appear in The Hobbit novel, for a very good reason: It takes place sixty years before the events in Lord of the Rings, before Frodo was even born. Well, official Rings and Hobbit fansite TheOneRing.net has an answer (SPOILER ALERT): Frodo will appear in the opening sequence of both Hobbit films, as part of a narrative framing device. Remember that part near the end of The Return of the King when Frodo is writing the story of the War of the Ring inside a book? The first part of that book he’s writing in contains a memoir by his uncle, Bilbo Baggins, which tells the story of Bilbo’s own great adventure. Apparently, Frodo will be reading Bilbo’s tale, and that will be the entryway into the proper story of The Hobbit. So don’t expect to see Frodo hanging out at the Battle of Five Armies or anything.
As TheOneRing points out, this is far from the first time that Jackson has amended Tolkien’s text. (Just ask Tom Bombadil fans.) Still, bringing in Frodo definitely marks a pretty significant structural shift from Tolkien’s original novel. PopWatchers, are you excited to see Elijah Wood put on the hairy feet again? Any other LOTR cast members you’d like to see make the jump? (Technically, Sean Astin’s Sam could pop in during that framing sequence, too…)
Read more:
Elijah Wood will appear in ‘The Hobbit’ as Frodo Baggins
‘The Hobbit’: Cate Blanchett joins the cast as Galadriel
‘The Hobbit’: Casting agent dismissed after seeking extras with ‘light skin tones’
‘Hobbit’ director Peter Jackson talks about casting a ‘heartthrob’ dwarf (Exclusive)
Peter Jackson vents his frustration over the bitter ‘Hobbit’ labor dispute: ‘I’m out of my depth’
‘The Hobbit’: Martin Freeman to play Bilbo Baggins; other roles also cast
It would be wonderful to see Samwise (Sean Astin) in the scenes with Frodo. “Frodo wouldn’t have got far without Sam,” as Frodo himself said.
LOL cute!
I wonder if they might have Orlando Bloom play Legolas’ father. Or he could just play Legolas again in a cameo, I guess. Has Ian McKellen been cast as Gandalf yet?!
Well, Legolas was around then, so Orlando Bloom will play the same character. His father is in the Hobbit, and subsequent Tolkien works have suggested Legolas was there, too, even if he wasn’t mentioned.
I’m very excited that Elijah will be playing Frodo again and I have confidence that they will make his presence logical and seamless. But it will seem strange for Frodo to be in the movie without Sam Gamgee, since they were together for all of LOTR. So I very much hope Sean Astin will return to reprise his role as Sam.
Agreed. If they’re shoehorning Elijah Wood into this thing (I’m not complaining), I want Sean Astin back too! I looooved his performance as Sam.
But after that scathing book that Astin wrote in which he complained that Jackson had his favorites on the set (and he wasn`t one of them, duh!) and that Ian Mckellen ignored him, I really don`t think he should be in the movie. Plus, the movie isn`t LOTR reunion but different story.
I’d love to see Sean Astin as Sam Gamgee in the framing scenes. That would be wonderful
No, that can’t happen. Frodo went off into the West after Lord of the Rings – why would Sam be there? He doesn’t belong just like Frodo doesn’t belong.
It wil take place before Frodo goes off to the west.
Actually Sam does go out west. All possessors of the ring (of which Sam was…even if only for a little while) get to go to go. He just goes at the end of his life
I’d love to see Sean Astin as Sam again.
Well, we don’t know how they’re going to set these scenes up – where and when they take place etc. But one thing we do know is that you can’t have Frodo without Sam. No argument.
Is there any way they could sneak Jar Jar Binks into a cameo?
I just love the funny way he talks.
ROFLMAO
That is freakin HILARIOUS!! Thanks for the laugh today!
ROFL!!!!!! Can you imagine the conversations between Gollum and Jar Jar?!
Your psotnig lays bare the truth
Meesa Likesa this comment!
Thank you!!!! AM I the only one who thought Sam came off as nothing better thana Jar Jar comic relief element? Sean Astin was terrible, and seeing him any more in this series would be a drag. Wood isnt a bad idea as long as they don’t get cheesy with it. I had thought bringing back Cate Blanchett was going to be the opening narrative, just like LOTR, so I’m curious where they’ll fit in Galadriel, since she isnt in The Hobbit either.
Why can’t we just see The Hobbit? Why are we forced to see The Hobbit: Revised just so we can add more stars to the movie? Disappointed.
I’m concerned about this, too. The Hobbit has its own story and it existed before LOTR, so why are they really pushing the prequel angle.
They’re pushing the “prequel angle” because these are film adaptations, and the LOTR films came first. Easy concept. I get that a lot of fans of the books read The Hobbit first (myself included), but can we please not make this one of those times when everyone loses their poo over small, minute story shifts? This is Peter Jackson we’re talking about. After watching his trilogy adaptation, do you really not feel The Hobbit is safe in his hands?
Indeed TSB.
It makes sense to do something to better tie the two stories together.
After all, Tolkien himself went back and revised The Hobbit after writing The Lord of the Rings for just that purpose.
Plus, they have to come up with lots of ways to stretch a 2-hour adventure into a 5-hour epic.
“Sunshine Band”,I consider all attempts to film Tolkien unforgivable.This is just more evidence of why.Stick to the books,and ONLY the books!
I’m with Steve and Dan. The Hobbit is a wonderful book on it’s own, and would make a wonderful film. There is no real need to stretch it out into a trilogy…other than money.
Word. It seems like they don`t have faith in The Hobbit appeal and think that shoe-horning LOTR stars (although they are 10 years older) is the only guaratee of the success.
Didn’t Tolkien revise Chapter 5 (Riddles in the Dark) after he wrote LOTR?
He made changes so that it would provide a backstory that made more sense for LOTR.
This is actually my senocd vid, and it was a painstaking process. I didn`t have any DVD rip software so I took frame by frame and saved it as .bmp and then added them to WMM at full speed, so you’ll notice it’s a bit slow. Those time are past and now I’ve moved to APP. But I still love this vid.
Frodo needs his Sam! Please include Sean Astin, too.
Dude, that’s so gay.
of course it is. this is a book/movie without a SINGLE female character, so romance has to be included, somehow.
Well when I read the description of the introductory sequence, it reminded me of how Tolkien pointed out Frodo’s suffering after the One Ring was destroyed. Near the end of the Return of the King, Frodo works alone on the Red Book while Sam is busy starting his family. Sam was surprised he filled the book because Frodo worked on it alone because the Witch King’s poisoned blade was taking its toll on Frodo so he basically kept to himself.
The One Ring was destroyed???!!! Thanks for ruining it for me!
Got to bring back Figwit the elf. He’s an elf. He’d have been there. Also, since Flight of the Conchords hasn’t been around for a while, we’re all due, don’t you think?
I’d love to see Billy Boyd, Dominic Mongahan, and Sean Astin as Pippin, Merry and Sam.
If we get Frodo then shouldn’t we get the rest of the hobbits too? I think since they are going to put Frodo into the film that it would be only natural to include all four hobbits from the Fellowship.
You guys make me sick. It’s not the damned Lord of the Rings, it’s the Hobbit. Let it be the Hobbit and stop trying to make it Lord of the Rings IV.
I think that EW is supporting the LOTR 4 thing because this feature is designed to send the message to the studio/directors that people want LOTR 4.
They make me sick too as does consistent overhype about those returning cameos while actors who are cast as Hobbit characters get next to none coverage.
Can’t he just stick to the characters that are actually *in* the book?
It’s just a framing device, and I think it kind of makes sense. Bilbo talked about finishing his book in the LOTR movies and ROTK did show Frodo working on it…why not make the connection there? I’m still a bit iffy about Galadriel’s presence, but I suppose she could have been one of the group that planned how to stick it to the Necromancer, and that happened in the book, even if it was “off-screen.” It’s kind of like how Peter Jackson dug Arwen out of the appendices and actually used her in LOTR – she was there in the actual books and she was important to Aragorn, but her story just wasn’t told in the actual book part…and I certainly didn’t mind Peter Jackson embellishing the role of one of the females so that there would be at least 3 women who did anything in that sausagefest of an trilogy. So anyways, that’s all a rambling way of saying that I trust Peter Jackson with The Hobbit. Looking forward to playing the inevitable “Where’s Peter And His Kids?” when they get to the Laketown scenes…
Amen.
Having Frodo and Sam reprise their roles makes sense for flashback purposes. Let’s just not over do it with cameos.
Sam`s additon would be overdoing it since he has no business in The Hobbit. Frodo is overdoing it too but he is at least related to Bilbo. sam is just frodo`s boyfriend which is really not enough of Bilbo connection.
I haven’t read the book, so don’t hate me if it’s not true, but isn’t Aragorn like 80 years old in the the trilogy, so they could have him and Legolas due a cameo. Don’t know about dwarves, possible that he’s that old too. Not saying they should, but it’s possible to cram the whole felloship in there. (minus Boromir)
Boo hoo – I miss Boromir… (not the book version, but the Sean Bean version………..) Hawt.
Well, Aragorn is 80 years in the trilogy and The Hobbit takes place 60 years before. So he would be 20 and Viggo Mortensen is 53. This would make a great comic relief cameo, though.
Well said. However, they could CGI the heck out of him like Jeff Bridges in Tron. That would be even funnier!