Official 'The Hobbit' Thread

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I have a theory that Benedict (Sherlock) is gonna play Cirdan who was a member of te White Council. I know the character was featured in Lord of the Rings but he was a background character with maybe 1 minute worth of screentime. That and he didn't have his beard.
 
I don't think we'll ever see a bearded elf in PJ's movie-verse.
 
I still think Benedict Cumberbatch will probably be voicing Smaug. He said in an interview last year it was a part he really wanted -

What roles would you most like to play?
Richard II, Oswald in Ghosts, Smaug in The Hobbit...
 
Its possible though it's up to Jackson. I just can't see him as Bard...I know he's a good actor and all.
 
It's been years since I've read The Hobbit. Why would Elijah Wood be returning in these films? I don't recall Frodo being in this story.
 
A framing device. Ian Holm is returning too.

I guess Bilbo is telling Frodo the story.
 
http://www.mckellen.com/cinema/hobbit-movie/110531.htm

The cat is out of the bag.* The actor is named.* The latest recruit to the Jackson troops is the superb Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock Holmes to Bilbo's Watson.* Martin Freeman let it slip when he picked up his BAFTA.

Martin told me he was "chuffed" about the prize.* So was the entire crew back here in Wellington; and about Benedict.* Now, what can he be playing in The Hobbit?

Philippa Boyens showed me a snippet of his screen-test, played in close-up into the camera.* It was electrifying, vocally and facially.* Yes, what can he be playing?

I worked with Timothy Cumberbatch in a Shaw double-bill in 1966. Perhaps he thought his surname might be a hindrance, because his stage-name was/is Timothy Carlton — a dextrous light comedian with charm and long legs. (Not as long as those of Sian Phillips who was en travestie in the same play, Man of Destiny.)

More recently, in Asylum, I worked with Mrs Cumberbatch, Wanda Ventham, one of UK television's most popular stars. Now I get to work with the son* — or do I? Depends, of course, what he's playing.

The sleuths are the third acting partnership in The Hobbit.

The current Sydney Theatre Company production of Uncle Vanya, couples Galadriel and Elrond as Yelena and Astrov.* I wish I could see them at the Kennedy Center, Washington DC in August.* But then they will both miss The Syndicate.

The Royal Shakespeare Company's King Lear came to Wellington in 2007, when I introduced Sylvester McCoy to one of his Dr. Who fans, Peter Jackson.* Now Lear and his Fool are a couple of wizards.

— Ian McKellen, Wellington,* 31 May 2011
 
Definitely reads as Smaug to me. Though this has me curious:

Ian McKellen said:
It was electrifying, vocally and facially.
Why would his face matter if he's just voicing a CG dragon? Unless, of course, they're going to find some way to incorporate Cumberbatch's facial expressions into Smaug's design (like they did with Serkis in Lord of the Rings and King Kong).
 
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When animators animate te voice actors they usually look at their preformace in the sound booth as a frame of reference.

But it sounds like Smaug especially how Ian is so coy about it. (And using 'what' instead of 'who' is a big clue)
 
-"The cat is out of the bag."
-The screentest emphasizing Cumberbatch's voice and facial expressions.

Definitely Smaug.
 
Yeah Smaug is the only character who hasnt been 'officially' announced who has that intensity that Ian was talking about. Bard is the more.. calm and noble type.
 
Well, Freeman let Cumberbatch's casting out of the bag, and McKellen pretty much spelled out what he's playing.

Hopefully PJ has no choice but to announce it soon :awesome::up:.
 
And I have to say, as difficult as it will be dislodging Bill Nighy's voice from my head, Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug is an inspired piece of casting. Probably one of my favorites thus far (assuming, of course, he is playing Smaug).
 
I think Peter will have some footage or pictures ready by Comic Con
 
It's interesting if Cumberbatch is voicing Smaug. Not how I imagine but it could be worse. It could have been Persbrandt voicing Smaug instead. *Shudders*
 
Cumberbatch's voice would actually make a terrific Smaug. He has this smoothness yet edge to his voice. I always imagined Smaug as this dragon in luxary just laying around and saying his lines without much care. Only until he can **** you up.

But whoever he is playing, I'm absolutely thrilled he's involved. Love this guy.
 
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His voice is like Alan Rickman's, without sounding like he's half asleep.
 
I've never seen anything of Cumberbatch's...yet. :(
 
BBC's Sherlock.

Watch it now, thank me later. That series is near perfection. I say "near," because they really dropped the ball with Moriarty.
 
Sherlock is definitely something I plan on checking out. Especially if its Stephen Moffat.
 
BBC's Sherlock.

Watch it now, thank me later. That series is near perfection. I say "near," because they really dropped the ball with Moriarty.

The actor they got was trying way too hard to be whimsical.
 
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