/Film found a great interview that the BBC Radio (click to listen to the full broadcast!) had with Mr. Guillermo del Toro. During this interview, most of the topics associated with del Toro were covered: The obvious being his two-film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien‘s The Hobbit; as well as Frankenstein, Hellboy 3, and others.

Most importantly is of course The Hobbit. The interviewer asked Guillermo if Andy Serkis would be returning for the role to which he confirmed what we all pretty much knew already: Serkis, Sir Ian McKellen, and Hugo Weaving will all be returning in their Lord of the Rings roles. The director also admitted that one of the most intriguing of the characters from the novel, Smaug, may take fourteen to fifteen months before film-ready; they’ve been working on him for eight months already and are just denting the surface. This attention to detail and quest for perfection now promises amazing things for Smaug. We already know that an announcement is expected soon in regard to who will fill the younger shoes of Bilbo Baggins, so it’s nice to have official confirmation of the returning faces.

After the Hobbit business was handled, Guillermo del Toro was also asked about one of the bigger projects that he has lined up: Frankenstein — a movie that he has expressed a massive personal passion toward directing. Aside from having it set, nothing was known about this monster movie adaptation; but del Toro (who admittedly hates keeping secrets) decided to announce that he has already cast the giant simpleton. Who do you cast as the legendary Frankenstein’s monster, you ask? Well, naturally, you cast the man that Guillermo del Toro casts in most of his makeup-heavy/costumed roles: Doug Jones! Jones handled the body duties of Abe Sapien in the Hellboy movies, and appeared as the Faun and the Pale Man in del Toro’s masterpiece Pan’s Labyrinth.

Speaking of Hellboy, it now appears that Hellboy 3 is off the table with the news that star Ron Perlman doesn’t want to deal with the makeup and prosthetics anymore. Considering how many long hours it takes to apply these movie makeup jobs, it shouldn’t be surprising that an actor is done with it; on the other hand, though, when you dedicate yourself to a character and the fans of this character, we kind of expect him to be there if a third movie came around. Interesting situation indeed.

As always, when delving into the exciting world of Guillermo del Toro, a lot of good stuff going on. Things with The Hobbit will really pick up when the casting of Bilbo is announced soon, but I’m really looking forward to getting a look at Doug Jones as Frankenstein.