Fans of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and J.R.R. Tolkien have been anxiously anticipating the the film adaptation of The Hobbit. While we haven't seen any official press releases recently we have had some promising news from Ian McKellen according to TheOneRing.net. At an all-night screening of the LOTR trilogy in London, McKellen announced that he is currently re-reading The Hobbit and that he is expecting to be back in New Zealand in March. He also mentioned that he should be getting the latest script for the film this week and implied that Bilbo Baggins has finally been cast but gave no clue as to who will be filling the role.

Early on Daniel Radcliffe had been rumored to be up for the Bilbo role but now that he's out, the focus has been on James McAvoy and David Tennant. Fans will have to wait for someone to leak the news or see who starts racking up the frequent flier miles with trips to and from New Zealand.

The Hobbit is being directed by Guillermo del Toro and produced by Peter Jackson. The pair will create a two-film series, the first of which is scheduled to hit theaters December 2011.

Source: theonering.net