Look Who Showed Up on The Hobbit Set?

Maybe I'm wrong here. But it looks like The Hobbit is one Helluva laid-back production. That might explain why Peter Jackson looks happier than he has in awhile. He's healthy and back in familiar territory. I'm referring to both Middle Earth and the fact that they're shooting in his home New Zealand.

With that in mind, I'm surprised Jackson has found his Fili replacement (since the originally-cast Robert Kazinsky vacated the role) so quickly. In his now-routine Facebook updates, Jackson reveals the identity of the new Fili and another addition to the cast:

"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."

Also pleasing to fans is confirmation that Hugo Weaving will return as Elrond, as per Stuff.Co.Nz (via One Ring). The above-picture of Weaving and Jackson on set was probably the big give-away to that news, I guess.