Regisseur Peter Jackson heeft met Los Angeles Times gesproken over de The Hobbit tweeluik, die in december 2012 en 2013 gaat uitkomen. Hij sprak met name over hoofdrolspeler Martin Freeman, die de rol speelt van Bilbo Baggins. Jackson startte laaiend enthousiast.

"He is fantastic and there is simply nobody else for the job. We couldn’t find anyone who was better than him. He is simply fantastic."

Ten tijde van het interview was de cast op verlof en nam deel aan de opnames voor de tv-serie Sherlock, waarin hij Dr. John Watson speelt. Jackson vervolgt:

"I can’t imagine anyone else doing Bilbo, which is one of the reasons, really, we signed him up even with having the ‘Sherlock’ break — normally on a movie you wouldn’t want to do that with the schedule. But we literally couldn’t figure out any other actor and we auditioned, you know. There is no other actor." en "He’s Bilbo-esque. You might not always want to say that about you, right? But seriously he has the essential features of this little English gent, this country gent who is slightly old-fashioned and has to go around in the world and try to cope with it. That’s not exactly who Martin is as a person, but as an actor he does that so well. The fish out of water with a sense of courage but also a wonderful sense of humor. The things that happen to him and the way he reacts to them — things he’s never seen in his life before as a stuffy little Hobbit — his response to it all is part of the charm. And he does have a great openness in his face."

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey verschijnt 14 december 2012. Het slotstuk The Hobbit: There and Back Again begint op 13 december 2013.