Trio in Hobbit Contract Talks

It was announced this week that Guillermo del Toro, the new director of The Hobbit movies, direct prequels to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings, will enter pre-production after Hellboy II: The Golden Army is released this July.

But the more exciting news, arguably, was that three of the original actors from LotR have been approached by Warner Bros. for “preliminary contract talks“ according to Variety.  They are:

• Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn)
• Ian McKellen (Gandalf)
• Andy Serkis (Gollum)

Obviously, we reported earlier that Ian McKellen had been in talks, as he announced last month:

“Yes, it’s true. I spoke to Guillermo in the very room that Peter Jackson offered me the part, and he confirmed that I would be reprising the role. Obviously, it’s not a part that you turn down; I loved playing Gandalf.”

And while the return of Andy Serkis was largely expected, word on Viggo Mortensen is a welcome relief to many fans, provided he takes the role once more.