The Hobbit is actually well into production so when the role of Fili went into limbo I’m sure the production crew went into a ferver to rectify the situation post haste. Well, Peter Jackson has confirmed via his Facebook that they have in fact cast a new Fili as well as sharing the news that the Lord of Rivendell has returned.
Source: Screen Rant
Dean O’Gorman will be playing Fili. Dean’s a terrific Kiwi actor, who I am thrilled to be working with. He’s recently been in an excellent TV series down here called “The Almighty Johnsons”, and I should let fans of that show know that our shooting schedule allows Dean to continue with a second series next year. Dean will be joining us next week…
I’m also pleased to announce that Lee Pace will be playing the Elven King Thranduil. Casting these Tolkien stories is very difficult, especially the Elven characters, and Lee has always been our first choice for Thranduil. He’s going to be great. We loved his performance in a movie called “The Fall” a few years ago, and have been hoping to work with him since. When we were first discussing who would be right for Thranduil, Lee came into mind almost immediately.
This is very welcome and re-assuring news for those of us still routinely checking in for the latest drama updates surrounding the production of these movies. I had little doubt that Hugo Weaving would be reprising his role in this movie but every announcement just seems so personal to those producing this movie that I can’t help but root for them. Heck, they announced these things on Facebook of all places! Looking forward to sharing more information as soon as it’s received.
This is all wonderful news!