Earlier this month, there was some confusion about a listing on Ian McKellen’s official site that said The Hobbit films would start filming in June. The next day, the site was updated to say “July” which was again changed several days later to say “at a time to be announced.”
That brought us back to square one, but now Digital Spy talked to Andy Serkis at the “Jameson Empire Awards” on Sunday who revealed that the two “Hobbit” films will likely kick-off towards the end of this year. That may mean that the first film’s release date will indeed have to be moved from 2011 to 2012.
So what can we expect? “I think Middle Earth will still feel like Middle Earth,” Serkis told the site. “[Director] Guillermo [del Toro]’s got a particular take on how he envisions it, that’s why he’s there. Peter, as producer, and the writing team want a fresh pair of eyes on the story.”
You can watch the interview with Serkis here.
We don’t expect there will be an official announcement about The Hobbit until MGM’s financial situation is sorted out in the coming weeks. The studio is considering sale bids from Time Warner and Leonard Blavatnik’s Access Industries.
