When Peter Jackson brought JRR Tolkein's The Lord Of The Rings to the big screen a major factor in its success was his loyalty to the source material. Yes, some adjustments were made while bringing the material to the big screen but, on the whole, the epic film trilogy is remarkably true to what's on the printed page.
The instant that it was announced that The Hobbit was being brought to the screen in two films rather than one we knew that would no longer be the case. What we're getting with The Hobbit is one film that follows the story of the book - or so we assume - and another that tells some other hobbity story of Jackson's own devising. And now we know at least part of what that will involve.
The Hollywood Reporter has just broken news that Cate Blanchett will appear as Galadriel in the new films. Keeping the same actress in the role is a good thing and appears to be a driving principal in Jackson's casting with as many Lord cast members returning as possible. The issue here? Galadriel's not in The Hobbit. At all. Cue purist outrage.
What does make me happy, though, is that included in the current round of casting is Mikael Persbrandt as the shape shifting Beorn. I won't pretend to be familiar with Persbrandt's body of work but Beorn has always been one of my favorite characters in Middle Earth and I'm glad he's coming to the big screen.
The instant that it was announced that The Hobbit was being brought to the screen in two films rather than one we knew that would no longer be the case. What we're getting with The Hobbit is one film that follows the story of the book - or so we assume - and another that tells some other hobbity story of Jackson's own devising. And now we know at least part of what that will involve.
The Hollywood Reporter has just broken news that Cate Blanchett will appear as Galadriel in the new films. Keeping the same actress in the role is a good thing and appears to be a driving principal in Jackson's casting with as many Lord cast members returning as possible. The issue here? Galadriel's not in The Hobbit. At all. Cue purist outrage.
What does make me happy, though, is that included in the current round of casting is Mikael Persbrandt as the shape shifting Beorn. I won't pretend to be familiar with Persbrandt's body of work but Beorn has always been one of my favorite characters in Middle Earth and I'm glad he's coming to the big screen.