This week, casting begins on Guillermo Del Toro’s adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit.  While Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis are set to return as Gandalf and Gollum, respectively, it is unlikely that Ian Holm will return to play a young Bilbo Baggins.  Additionally, many characters in The Hobbit did not appear in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and will require new actors for the new characters.

Producer Peter Jackson commented that they are not looking for major stars: ”(These movies) have never been a star-driven vehicle. The star is (author J.R.R.) Tolkien and the world he created. We are not under any pressure. We want to find the right people. Casting someone to portray a hobbit is not as easy as you might imagine. They have to have a particular type of physical appearance and a sensibility. And the same with an elf or a dwarf. These are fantastical characters, but you’ve got to find the right people to play them, the right humans to translate these characters.”

Production is also set for Spring 2010: “We were always planning to shoot around April or May next year, and as far as I’m aware, we’re pretty much on target for that. It depends on how quickly the studio greenlights the film. It’s not in our hands. But as long as we‘re shooting next year, we’re fine.”

Source: http://www.heatvisionblog.com/2009/12/peter-jackson-says-hobbit-casting-begins-this-week.html