Our good friends over at our partner site Tolkiendrim.com reported here that shooting of pick ups for the next two Hobbit movies begins on May 15th – that’s already today in many parts of the world! And a good part of ‘today’ has already passed in New Zealand – so we’re assuming that filming is already underway. Shooting is scheduled to continue until the end of July.
Of course, the question we’re all pondering is: what scenes will be slated for this period of filming? We already know that 3 foot 7 were looking to cast extras with ‘character faces’, as described in their ad, here. Spanish Tolkien site elanillounico.com and French site Tolkiendrim.com both report that, apparently, these extras are sought for scenes which will take place in Bree; which of course does seem to fit with a need for character faces.
And this is where the wild speculation begins – get ready, because we’re guessing outside the box here! What scenes for The Hobbit movies might be set in Bree? Surely there is no need for An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition material to take us back to Bree on the journey of Bilbo and the dwarves? More interestingly, perhaps it could be a flashback to Gandalf and Thorin’s first meeting on the road, when they passed a night at Bree, as described in The Quest for Erebor? What important information might the film makers wish to disclose in such a scene – more about the back story of Azanulbizar and the disappearance of Thorin’s father, Thrain?
In their article, our French friends go even further and speculate that this may be a chance for some of the oft discussed ‘bridge’ material between the stories of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Perhaps we will get to see Aragorn and Gandalf meeting in Bree, during Aragorn’s ranging days in the North, before the beginning of the hunt for Gollum. Viggo Mortensen only recently stated again, this time to Total Film magazine, that he would be keen to play a role in The Hobbit trilogy. He is reported here as having said, ‘Would I play Aragorn again? Sure, if it seemed sensible to do so. He’s not in the book of The Hobbit, but if they’re working with the appendices they may be intending to bridge the 60-year Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings gap.’ Mortensen went on to say, ‘I think I would have heard by now so I have to assume [not]… But Peter Jackson is famous for his reshoots, so you never know!’
Now that is something exciting to think about. Total idle speculation of course; we don’t even know for sure that scenes ARE being filmed in Bree. But it’s fun to dream of a little glimpse of Strider….
Thanks to our friends at Tolkiendrim.com for their report!
