MARTIN FREEMAN IS BILBO BAGGINS.

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Seriously, it could end there and it wouldn’t matter, right?  Freeman is great, and you may remember him from (the original and still the best) British version of The Office, Hot Fuzz, and  Hitchhiker’s Guide To the Galaxy.  He’s perfect, and who everyone was pulling for, short of getting Ian Holm to magically lose 40 years (or 80-90, as it were in the LOTR chronology).

The next piece of key casting is Richard Armitage, who I personally have no real opinion of, but my wife swoons for as she religiously watches MI-5, (literally, she just went, “Oooooh!”) But he is involved in one of my most anticipated films of the next few years, Captain America.

The rest of the cast are people I know even less, but given Jackson’s ability to properly cast even more minor roles (I would argue there is almost no miscasting in either Lord of the Rings or King Kong– good thing we dodged the bullet with a replacement Aragorn or that wouldn’t be true, now would it?)

What is missing here is an announcement for Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Gollum (Andy Serkis), and the voice of Smaug (rumored to be Bill Nighy) and relatively major parts Beorn and Bard of Laketown.  Back during when Guillermo del Toro was directing, it was rumored he had a part carved out for Hellboy himself, Ron Perlman, speculated to be one of these two roles.

Also, since it was originally conceived as two films, rumored to include what would have been some peripheral stories about Gandalf’s interactions with Saruman, possibly including some meetings with Aragorn, we have no confirmation of Christopher Lee or Viggo Mortenson being involved either.

What say you robots?  Let the speculation-tron and bitch-mo-matic engage its servos!!!

Here’s the official press release (and also “>some youtube love):

Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Rob Kazinsky, Aidan Turner, Graham McTavish, John Callen, Stephen Hunter, Mark Hadlow and Peter Hambleton have joined the ensemble cast of the The Hobbit, it was jointly announced today by Toby Emmerich, President and Chief Operating Officer, New Line Cinema; Alan Horn, President and Chief Operating Officer, Warner Bros.; Steve Cooper, co-Chief Executive Officer of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., and Peter Jackson.

Since The Hobbit films received a green light on October 15, pre-production has been in full swing. Set for release in December, 2012 and December, 2013, we can confirm that Martin Freeman (The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Hot Fuzz) will play Bilbo Baggins, the hero of the story. Richard Armitage (UK TV’s MI-5 and soon to appear in Captain America: The First Avenger) is set to play Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of the Company of Dwarves which sets off to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from a thieving dragon.

“Despite the various rumours and speculation surrounding this role, there has only ever been one Bilbo Baggins for us,” says Peter Jackson.  “There are a few times in your career when you come across an actor who you know was born to play a role, but that was the case as soon as I met Martin.  He is intelligent, funny, surprising and brave – exactly like Bilbo and I feel incredibly proud to be able to announce that he is our Hobbit.”

He adds “Richard is one of the most exciting and dynamic actors working on screen today and we know he is going to make an amazing Thorin Oakensheild. We cannot wait to start this adventure with him and feel very lucky that one of the most beloved characters in Middle-earth is in such good hands.”

Rounding out the Company of Dwarves are Aidan Turner (TV’s Being Human) and Rob Kazinsky (TVs EastEnders) who play Kili and Fili, respectively. Jackson comments “Rob is an extremely talented young actor with a huge career in front of him, I’m thrilled that he has agreed to take on the role of Fili.  Besides his talent as an actor, Rob is also a champion sword fighter; I’m looking forward to seeing the damage he can do to a horde of marauding Goblins!”  He continues, “Adian is a wonderfully gifted young actor who hails from Ireland. I’m sure he will bring enormous heart and humor to the role of Kili.”

The remaining dwarves will be played by Graham McTavish (Secretariat and TV’s 24) as Dwalin; John Callen (TV’s Power Rangers Jungle Fury) as Oin; Stephen Hunter (TV’s All Saints) as Bombur; Mark Hadlow (King Kong) as Dori; and Peter Hambleton (TV’s The Strip) as Gloin.

Jackson notes, “Graham is a terrific actor, with a great depth of experience, which I know he will bring to the role of “Dwalin. I have worked with Mark Hadlow on many projects; he is a fantastic actor.  I am thrilled to be working with both of them on these movies.  He adds, “I am also proud to announce the casting of New Zealand actors as Peter Hambleton, John Callen and Stephen Hunter. Fran and I know that they will bring great depth and talent to our Company of Dwarves.”

The two The Hobbit films are being co-produced by New Line Cinema and MGM, with New Line managing production, Warner Bros. Pictures handling domestic distribution and MGM distributing internationally. Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Carolynne Cunningham are producing the films, with Phillipa Boyens serving as co-producer and Ken Kamins as executive producer.

The Oscar-winning, critically acclaimed LOTR trilogy, also from the production team of Jackson, Walsh and Cunningham, grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box office. In 2003, Return of the King swept the Academy Awards, winning all of the 11 categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture — the first-ever Best Picture win for a fantasy film. The trilogy’s production was also unprecedented at the time.