It’s just been announced that Saoirse Ronan will work with Peter Jackson again. This time, of course, it’s for The Hobbit. She’s played a dead rape victim, a young girl trained to kill, and now she’ll play some sort of fantasy creature from Middle Earth.
According to an interview with the Irish Film and Television Network (that Coming Soon was nice enough to find), casting director Ros Hubbard confirmed Ronan’s involvement as well as the hiring of Aidan Turner (Being Human) to play Kili (a dwarf) and James Nesbitt to play Bofur (another dwarf).
So who will Ronan play? Good question, and I’ve got a good guess. Or two.
As there is a sincere lack of female characters in the book, the producers are going to invent a few. A casting call for the film mentioned a character named Itaril, an elf that’s not in the original text.
Here’s the description:
[ITARIL] FEMALE, A WOODLAND ELF, this character is one the Silvan Elves. The Silvan Elves are seen as more earthy and practical. Shorter than other elves, she is still quick and lithe and physically adept, being able to fight with both sword and bow. Showing promise as a fighter at a young age, ITARIL was chosen to train to become part of the Woodland King’s Guard. This is the only life she has ever expected to live, until she meets and secretly falls in love with a young ELF LORD. This role will require a wig and contact lenses to be worn. Some prosthetic make-up may also be required. LEAD. AGE: 17–27. ACCENT ‐ STANDARD R.P.
Ronan is fairly elf-like already and the age matches, but the age also matches for another role. One that was in the book. Frodo’s mother:
[PRIMULA BRANDYBUCK] Primula is a bright, lively and pretty young Hobbit. She is considered to be ‘wayward’ and ‘not proper’. But PRIMULA doesn’t care. ‐ Prone to letting words and thoughts tumble out of her mouth without pause, PRIMULA can also be acutely observant. Kind hearted with a loving nature, she is the type of person who can light up a room. LEAD. AGE: 18–27 STANDARD R.P. OR SLIGHTLY ACCENTED REGIONAL ENGLISH ACCENT.
Ronan isn’t exactly hobbit-esque in appearance, so it might be a surprise to see her in that role, but Peter Jackson is full of surprises. Still, it’s not like she’s going to play Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, right? Right?
Who do you think she might play?