Condolences to the unemployed of New Zealand, but the final major roles of The Hobbit have been cast. Evangeline Lilly (Lost) and Barry Humphries (Finding Nemo) will join Peter Jackson’s production. Humphries, Australian comedian and creator of Dame Edna Everage, will be playing the villainous Goblin King, while Lilly, best known as the perpetually ineffective Kate on Lost, will portray Woodland elf Tauriel.
Tauriel isn’t a character that appeared in the books, and Jackson was cryptic as to her role. “Her name means ‘daughter of Mirkwood’ and, beyond that, we must leave you guessing!” Though he did go on to specify that she wouldn’t be a love interest for Orlando Bloom’s Legolas, which is for the best, considering how the Kate/Jack/Sawyer love triangle was the bane of Lost’s existence.
Humphries’ Goblin king will be a completely CGI creation, in the vein of Andy Serkis’ portrayal of Gollum in the original Lord of the Rings trilogy. The character actor, who has spent years performing in drag as Dame Edna Everage, should have little trouble making the shift to “digital drag.”
This casting news comes on the heels of Friday’s revelation that Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) and Luke Evans (Clash of the Titans) will be joining the cast as the dragon Smaug and human Bard, respectively. Jackson reports that these new additions will “round out the major casting.” For now, Tolkeinites will have to settle in for a long wait for set photos.
The first of the Hobbit films The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will come to theaters December 14, 2012, while the sequel The Hobbit: There and Back Again is due on December 13th, 2013.
Source: TheOneRing.net
