Orlando and The Hobbit

[ourdramaqueen]

http://www.mtvmoviesblog.com/2007/05/17/orlando-bloom-iffy-on-hobbit-role-unless-peter-jackson-returns/

Orlando Bloom Iffy On ‘Hobbit’ Role Unless Peter Jackson Returns

19 Comments | Published by Shawn Adler on Thursday, May 17, 2007 at 11:21 am.

Orlando Bloom seems to be shying away from playing the great elf Legolas in “The Hobbit,” that is unless his original “Lord of the Rings” helmer is behind the camera. “Who’s directing it, Peter Jackson?” he mockingly answered when asked about the possibility.

Yes, we know that Legolas isn’t technically in “The Hobbit,” and to his eternal credit, Bloom knows this as well. But dedicated “Rings” fans know that Legolas is an elf from the realm of Mirkwood, a kingdom Bilbo Baggins and his dwarf companions get captured in towards the end of “The Hobbit,” imprisoned there by the Elvenking Thranduil.

Given, then, that Bilbo spends much time during “The Hobbit” at Mirkwood, and given, too, that Thranduil is Legolas’s father – it seems inconceivable that filmmakers wouldn’t choose to include the popular character in some capacity. “Maybe they’ll create a subplot for Legolas,” Bloom said, though later adding that “I think we covered [his story] with ‘Lord of the Rings.’”

Would Legolas in “The Hobbit” be a good idea, with or without Peter Jackson? Sound off below.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/saura_/]

Would Legolas in “The Hobbit” be a good idea, with or without Peter Jackson?

Yes, sir. Having the original characters we all know from LORTs is a success for the movie already.

I'm glad that Orli says no, if it's not PJ directing! At least (much to "his eternal credit") he's taking sides!

[ourdramaqueen.livejournal.com]

Well I wouldn't want them to write him a big storyline, because that never happened in the book, but it would make sense for him to be there.

[serenitysangel.livejournal.com]

Hmmm...Okay, I may be a big Elf Lover and it would be great to see Orlando return as Legolas, if PJ did do The Hobbit, but I have to say, I guess I'm a bit of a puritan when it comes to all things LOTRs and Legolas wasn't in the book, sure Bilbo spent a long time in Mirkwood, but Tolkien didn't write anything about any encounters with Legolas. It would be Hollywood fabrication , in my opinion, just to ensure that fans of Orlando and previous fans of the trilogy get drawn in, if he is there. Won't matter that it's not true to the book. I know crazy thing for me to be hesitant, but dammit just like there weren't elves at Helms Deep, there was no Legolas in The Hobbit.

[ourdramaqueen.livejournal.com]

Well, just because he wasn't mentioned in the book, that doesn't mean he wasn't there (unlike in the case of Elves at Helm's Deep - now that definitely didn't happen) - Mirkwood is his home and Thranduil is his father, so why shouldn't he be. However I wouldn't want them to write some big scene/s for Legolas, now that would really be too much. But to have him there in a cameo (at most maybe have him in a very brief scene with Bilbo), that, IMHO, wouldn't violate canon too much.

Some people think Orli could play Thranduil, now that he's a bit older. :)

[serenitysangel.livejournal.com]

Perhaps not, but I can't imagine them not trying to write something bigger for him than just cameo. The nature of the business would have them trying to draw in more fans by giving him a bigger scene or scenes.

Hmmm, not sure about that yet.

[ourdramaqueen.livejournal.com]

Yeah...

Of course it's likely the whole discussion is moot anyway, since it doesn't look good for PJ still doing it. We'll see. :)

[mole-caz.livejournal.com]

Not sure. The purists will not like it but from the fangirl's POV, having a 'heart throb' like Orlando reprising a much loved role, would surely help it to be a box office hit. I don't think any of the original cast [that might be included in The Hobbit] have said they would do it withou PJ at the helm have they?

[ourdramaqueen.livejournal.com]

I don't think so, no.

Well, if it's just a cameo, that could work. After all, Mirkwood is his home and Thranduil is his father, so why shouldn't Legolas be there? Just nothing big, please.

[ms-alis.livejournal.com]

Orlando is such a sweetie. He owes PJ a lot, and he isn't going to be disloyal.

Just because Legolas was not mentioned in The Hobbit does not mean he was not at Mirkwood at the time! He is 800 years old after all. It would have to be some sort of cameo though, not a major re-write.

[ourdramaqueen.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's how I feel too.

[forestrane.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, I'm not sure I'd want to see Legolas in the Hobbit, unless it was just as a cameo. But, now that Orlando has aged a little, why couldn't he play Thranduil.

[digitallux.livejournal.com]

Oh ... now thats an interesting thought ... ;-)

[textualdeviance.livejournal.com]

That's what I'd been thinking, too: either a cameo or as Thranduil.

Likewise, I could see some of the others in cameos as older relatives of their previous characters.

And I think James McAvoy ought to be aged a bit to play Bilbo.

[ourdramaqueen.livejournal.com]

Heh, that's true!

[pattilovesviggo.livejournal.com]

I`d love to see Orli as Legolas in the Hobbit, but only if PJ were directing.
It`s a pity that Aragorn was so young then, and would never be in it.
I love the story, but it would have to be made by PJ.

[baranduin.livejournal.com]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

[ourdramaqueen.livejournal.com]

LOL! I take it you don't want Legolas to be in The Hobbit? Well I definitely would not agree with them writing some extra stuff for him - but he could be there in a cameo, with his father. He may not have been mentioned in the book but that doesn't mean he wasn't there at all.