The Hobbit Report: July, 2009

Photo montage: New Line promo photo,
David Tennant promo photo

Much of the editorial focus of JRR Tolkien Examiner will be on the upcoming, two-part film version of The Hobbit, to be released at Christmas 2011 and 2012. The Hobbit Report will bring you the latest developments as the production progresses.

Will the Tenth Doctor play Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit?

Multiple online and mainstream press sources, particularly the UK’s Telegraph, are speculating that Doctor Who star David Tennant has been tapped to portray a younger Bilbo Baggins in Guillermo del Toro’s two-part film adaptation of The Hobbit.

The 38-year-old Tennant is best known to American audiences as the star of series two through four of the new Doctor Who on BBC America, plus a series of special episodes in 2009. He leaves the role this December.

Americans may also remember the Scottish actor as the evil Barty Crouch Jr. in the 2005 film version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Del Toro was expected to announce the casting choice at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con International. However, producer Peter Jackson now says there will be no announcement at Comic-Con, as the script for The Hobbit is not yet finished, and any actor offered the role would need to read the script first. But the Telegraph notes that Tennant is attending Comic-Con for the first time this year to promote Doctor Who.

These developments seem to support the rumor that Ian Holm will not reprise his role as Bilbo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, except perhaps as narrator.