Guillermo del Toro has been wandering around the UK talking up The Hobbit and it looks like they’re finally getting down to the business of locking down the cast. No big surprises yet, so far it all seems to be about bringing back the Lord of the Rings actors they need to bring back.

In an interview with BBC Radio, as reported by G4, del Toro confirmed what we’d all pretty much assumed. Andy Serkis will return as Gollum, Ian McKellan is back as Gandalf, and Hugh Weaving reprises the role of Elrond. Not exactly a shocker, but it feels good to be reporting LOTR news again.

This is just the beginning. Del Toro says that in a few weeks he’s going to start dropping the big bombshells. For instance… who’s playing Bilbo Baggins? Ian Holm is too old they will, presumably, recast the part as someone younger. It’ll be one of our first indicators of how del Toro is going to handle this thing since, the casting of characters like Gollum, Gandalf, and Elrond was decided long before he got involved. Bilbo Baggins is his first big test, and it’ll say a lot about what Guillermo’s up to here.

During his interview Del Toro also talked a bit about the script and the direction they’re going with story. Quick highlights: They may expand sub-plot material from the book. For instance Gandalf’s role will be expanded and we’ll see more of his quest which happens off stage in the book. They’ve been working on Smaug the Dragon for 8 months, and have only just “cracked the basic engineering”. Six or seven more months of work is expected. Del Toro has promised big things when it comes to Smaug, sounds like he’s intent on delivering.