"The Hobbit" Possible Character List

Thought I'd start a whole new thread about this.

In a film version of "The Hobbit" there are four known returning characters - Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf (the Grey), Gollum and Elrond. Sir Ian McKellan, Andy Serkis and Hugo Weaving could easily reprise their roles from "The Lord of the Rings". Bilbo is questionable and might need to be re-cast with an actor younger than Ian Holm (though not necessarily). Having Holm would be ideal and I understand that their are digital options that could make him appear a bit younger than he did at the beginning of "The Fellowship of the Ring". Similar enhancements were made to Sir Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector in the movie "Red Dragon" to remove wrinkles and crow's feet in close-ups. The prequel took place ten years prior to the events of "The Silence of the Lambs".

As to the rest of the story, you definitely have thirteen Dwarves (most notably Thorin Oakenshield), Thranduil the King of the Wood Elves of Mirkwood, Beorn and Bard the Bowman.

In addition, you could have Galadriel and Saruman appear in scenes that took place during the story but were not written as part of the text. Additional appearances could include Radagast (as a member of the White Council), Legolas (as he is Thranduil's son), Gimli (in the Battle of the Five Armies) and Arwen (at Rivendell). Flashbacks could require appearances by Thror (Thorin's father) and famous Elves of Gondolin (a flashback that details the history of the Elvish blades, Glamdring and Orcrist). Perhaps, even the story of Celebrimbor and the forging of the Rings of Power could be weaved in.

So there is a lot of potential as far as additional scenes and characters that aren't necessarily part of "The Hobbit" as written but perfectly in line with additional material written by Tolkien and since published in other volumes.

And there's two schools of thought on this - 1) that the additional material enriches the story for those not familiar with "Unfinished Tales" or "The Silmarillion" and 2) that the extra padding simply bloats the simple story and needlessly stretches it out over two films. We'll have to wait and see.

As to the production itself, I could imagine that one of Jackson's assistant directors (or two) on "The Lord of the Rings" could be his choice(s) to direct rather than a more famous name like Sam Raimi. Someone with the experience of the last set of films could do well with Jackson as Exec Producer. Add that to the return of the Weta Workshop organization and most of the technical people who did the trilogy and Jackson's absence behind the camera might not even be noticed.

All in all I'm hopeful, but cautiously so.