Weaving, McKellan and Serkis Confirmed for The Hobbit

Hugo Weaving, Ian McKellan and Andy Serkis will reprise their roles as Elrond, Gandalf and Gollum in The Hobbit, according to director Guillermo del Toro. The buy director told the BBC this week that the actors have officially signed up to star in the beloved trilogy’s prequel, which is scheduled to hit theaters in 2012.

Based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s prequel to the Lord of the Rings books, the shorter adventure centers on the young Bilbo Biggins’ journey to the Lonely Mountain to reclaim treasures from the Dragon Smaug. According to del Toro, only two Hobbit movies are in the works and not three as previously reported.

The Mexican helmer also noted that his friend and collaborator Doug Jones (Hellboy 2, Pan’s Labyrinth) will also be starring in his planned adaptation of Frankenstein which won’t happen for another five or six years.