December 9, 2010 
>We already knew Peter Jackson was going to return to Middle Earth in February 2011 following the ludicrous success of his Lord of the Rings trilogy. But beyond knowing that this would be to begin filming for The Hobbit, we didn’t really know a whole lot else. That is, until now.
According to Deadline, Cate Blanchett has been confirmed to further her elfish ways as Galadriel in the prequel to the trilogy. Blanchett joins Martin Freeman (who will play Bilbo Baggins) and Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield) in the “announced” actors’ camp amidst what still remains a largely “rumoured” cast list. Deadline also believes Orlando Bloom will reprise his role as Legolas in the Hobbit films.
Along with Blanchett (and maybe Bloom), Ken Stott (Charlie Wilson’s War), Sylvester McCoy (known mostly for roles on British TV shows such as Doctor Who, The Bill and Casualty) and Swedish actor Mikael Persbrandt have also joined the list of confirmed cast. And even though we’re yet to hear anything certain about Ian McKellan returning as Gandalf and Andy Serkis as Gollum (both rumoured at this stage) it would certainly seem remiss if they weren’t to return for Jackson’s epic prequel.
The Hobbit is a co-production between Warner Bros and MGM through New Line Cinema. One way or another, that confirmed cast list can’t be too far away because filming begins in February 2011 and the US release date for Part One of the two-parter is set for December 2012.
Discuss: Who would you like to see confirmed next?
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>Kate Blanchett and Orlando Bloom are both great casts for The Hobbit – that I can tell you.