Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood returning to Middle-earth

You have probably heard by now that Sir Ian McKellen has Tweeted that he will be returning to Middle-earth (as Gandalf). He has already created a place on his Website where he’ll write about his “Hobbit Movie” adventures.

Meanwhile, numerous blogs and news sites are reporting that Andy Serkis and Elijah Wood will be reprising their roles in “The Hobbit”.

In fact, EW has written a senationalist headline, demanding to know if Peter Jackson is trying to screw up “The Hobbit”.

They cite the self-proclaimed “Tolkien Professor” Corey Olson as a source for the unsettling revelation that (gasp!) Legolas actually belongs in “The Hobbit”.

Hm.

Okay, anyone who has discussed Tolkien’s world for any length of time knows that Legolas and Galadriel were more-or-less retrofitted into the world of The Hobbit by Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings. So what? Big deal.

The real story here is that Peter Jackson is drawing upon every legal inference possible to populate his vision of Middle-earth with icons that are familiar to his “Lord of the Rings” audience. That’s exactly what Jackson fans have been demanding for years.

Will the movies change the story? Absolutely. We already know that Peter has made changes to the world and events of “The Lord of the Rings” (or should that be The Lord of the Rings). Must we suffer through another round of faux purist agonizing over the inevitable abridgements and other changes?

Let’s just look forward to seeing some enjoyable movies. Whether J.R.R. Tolkien will turn over in his grave is anyone’s guess, but even if he does, that won’t change a thing.