While it was Elijah Wood, as Frodo Baggins, and his little furry-footed friends that led the adventure in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, the great quest will be led by a different lot of hairy little ones in the upcoming set of film prequels.
The Baggins name, of course, is still prominent in the Peter Jackson-directed "The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey," with Frodo's kinsman, Bilbo, played by "The Office" veteran Martin Freeman, taking center stage. Unlike Frodo, though, Bilbo is not so eager to head out on Gandalf's mission, and needs escort from a small army of dwarves.
Led by Thorin Oakenshield, the rowdy lot lead the way to The Lonely Mountain, and after years of speculation, and weeks of leaks, we've finally gotten a full look at all thirteen of the warrior dwarves (dwarriors?), an impressive -- and hairy -- crew.
From left to right, we welcome Jed Brophy as Nori, Dean O'Gorman as Fili, Mark Hadlow as Dori, James Nesbitt as Bofur, Peter Hambleton as Gloin, Graham McTavish as Dwalin, Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, Ken Stott as Balin, John Callen as Oin, Stephen Hunter as Bombur, William Kircher as Bifur, Adam Brown as Ori and Aidan Turner as Kili. (And thanks to TheOneRing.net for that roundup).
Want more? Of course you do. Check out Jackson's latest update from the set, where he takes fans on a bit of a video tour of all the comings and goings involved in making the epic journey take fight. And then, take a first look at Gandalf and Martin Freeman as Bilbo.
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