In an interview published on the official J.R.R. Tolkien fan site, Guillermo Del Toro confirmed that Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis would resume their roles as Gandalf and Gollum in the two films from The Hobbit series.
The Mexican filmmaker is also talking about having Ian Holm play the character Bilbo Baggins once again. Holm’s participation has not been confirmed.
Del Toro mentioned that he has several people in mind for the cast, but he definitely wanted Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis’ participation.
The director said that he was very enthusiastic about taking on the new project. He will start filming in New Zealand once he is finished promoting the film Hellboy2: The Golden Army.