MTV has posted their choices for casting for the upcoming two The Hobbit movies, and they’re not all what I would have expected. I guess you get so used to the characters in the LOTR (Lord of the Rings) movie trilogy, but The Hobbit takes place long before. Some of the characters appear in both stories, though in much younger years.

• Smaug: CGI creation – no surprise there.
• Thorin Oakenshield: Brian Cox; alternate: Ben Kingsley as an alternate if lack of stockiness isn’t an issue.
• Bard the Bowman: Russell Crowe or Christian Bale; alternate: Gerard Butler.
• Thranduil: Orlando Bloom cameo, else David Bowie; alternate: Stellan Skarsgard.
• Beorn: Robbie Coltrane (except he was Hagrid in Harry Potter) or Alfred Molina; Bruce Campbell.

What do you think? Do you agree with MTV’s picks?

If you’re looking for some great Hobbit-related prints, check out David T. Wenzel’s of gorgeous, rich gallery of Hobbit watercolor paintings. Prints are available online, payable via PayPal.

A video clip of the 1977 animated The Hobbit is shown below, set to Led Zeppelin’s Ramble On. Lyricist and guitarist Jimmy Page was often influenced by fantastical stories, especially that of Tolkien’s. If you listen carefully to Ramble On, you can hear Robert Plant mention “Gollum”.