The Hobbit: Ian McKellen Announces July Start Date

Through his official website, Ian McKellen has announced a starting date for the film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.

The two-film production will apparently begin shooting in July and wrap up filming about a year later. The actor, who is returning in the role of the wizard Gandalf, also announced that casting has begun in L.A., New York, and London, and that the scripting is still being worked on until shooting begins. This isn't unusual, as script work often goes through renovations even throughout the filming process.

Director Guillermo Del Toro has taken over the reigns of these Lord of the Rings prequels from Peter Jackson, who now serves as the producer. Del Toro has already moved to Wellington to be close to Jackson and the production studio, McKellen reports.

The films will both adapt the original book and then bridge the gap between this story and the film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings, hence the two film adaptation. The films will be shot simultaneously, as the films before them had done.

Other than McKellen, both Hugo Weaving and Andy Serkis will also be returning as Elrond and Gollum, respectively, though more may be coming, as McKellen states, "The first draft is crammed with old and new friends, again on a quest in Middle Earth."