It really wasn’t a surprise to anyone when Elijah Wood was announced to have a role in Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit.” The question wasn’t whether or not he’d reprise his role as Frodo, that much we guesstimated, but what his role as Frodo would actually be in the film. Now, thanks to AICN, Wood’s role has been revealed! If you’re a bit curious then keep reading, knowing that this is considered a spoiler, otherwise stop reading and go back now.
From the set in New Zealand, here’s what AICN reporter Quint had to say:
What’s Frodo doing in The Hobbit? I don’t want to spoil too much, but I can say that Frodo is part of the connecting tissue between The Hobbit and Fellowship of the Ring.
In fact, the next shot was an over the shoulder on Elijah Wood hammering a sign up on Bag End’s front gate: “No Admittance Except On Party Business.” You guys should have an idea where that puts this moment in the timeline.
Martin Freeman stood in for Ian Holm, who shot all of his scenes and close-ups in London. They would sometimes play footage they’ve already shot to remind themselves of what they had done previously and to help them match up shots. Peter and crew did that for these reverse shots on Elijah and I got to see Ian as Bilbo once again. It was quite extraordinary, actually. Seeing Ian in close up, wearing the wig, the vest and the pointy ears just put a smile on my face.
So there’s that. Now we know where a young Frodo stands within the timeline as the events that unfolds in the new film will be flackbacks from his perspective. More importantly, this also reveals how intertwined “The Hobbit” is with “The Fellowship of the Ring”:
Their conversation is about Gandalf and if Bilbo thinks Gandalf will show up. Bilbo says “He wouldn’t miss a chance to let off his whiz-poppers. He’ll put on quite a show, you’ll see,” and Frodo grins, saying he’s going to go surprise him and bounds off down the path like a kid at Christmas. When I say he bounds down the path that’s not an exaggeration for illustrative purposes. He was damn near skipping, a glimpse of that pre-ring Frodo we meet in Fellowship.
After Frodo leaves the frame is very wide featuring The Shire in all its glory; The Green Dragon and mill smack dab in the middle.
It’s my understanding this shot will transition to “60 Years Earlier” with Young Bilbo sitting in front of Bag End contently smoking a pipe and casually blowing smoke rings as Gandalf comes along and presents him with his adventure.