In case you missed it, the interwebs were abuzz yesterday with whispers of Spider-Man star and newly Golden Globe nominated Brothers actor Tobey Maguire possibly being in consideration for the highly-coveted role of Bilbo Baggins in Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson‘s The Hobbit. At first glance, this sounds like the worst rumor ever to be started, but in fact, it turned out to have some solid backing to it.
The possibilities began when Latino Review was informed that while promoting Brothers, Maguire was asked about who he would like to work with in the future, to which he replied “Guillermo del Toro. We may have something here in the near future.” Of course, this is way too good to just leave as it is, so LR dug a little deeper and discovered that Maguire was actually in the earliest of chit-chatting stages with producers of The Hobbit about the role.
The first thing that I thought was that there was absolutely NO way this would happen, even if he had entered into some kind of negotiations for the Bilbo role. I don’t think even Tobey Maguire himself could look me dead in the eye and tell me that he was even slightly acceptable for the part. We all love Elijah Wood in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but admit it, if he had to carry the whole movie on his back with that accent, we’d be looking at some alternate cinematic history. If Tobey were cast, I can safely say that I would lose almost all interest in these movies — movies which are part of a world that I love dearly.
Thankfully, there’s already some evidence against this ever happening. In response to these reports, Maguire had this to say:
I have not met with del Toro. We don’t have any near future plans. I don’t know if something got misconstrued or miscommunicated but the source was not accurate at all.
Maguire made sure not to rule out and possibilities while he was at it.
I love Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson, and I certainly wouldn’t take myself out of the conversation…if I was part of it. But I haven’t read a script or talked to anybody about it.
Aggravating as it may be, this is how Hollywood works, and nothing we hear seems to ever be pure fact. As far as I’m concerned, Maguire could still be in the running for this role and they’re trying to cover up his woopsie; OR, he might have never been in the running at all. Until we get an official announcement, speculations just make things messy. Remember how many frakin’ names we heard for the role of The Joker in The Dark Knight? Yeah.
[Source: Heat Vision Blog]
Say it isn’t so?! I’ve never been the biggest Tobey fan, but despite that, I have nothing against the actor. The thought of him playing Bilbo thought is utterly absurd!
Comment by Naazneen — December 16, 2009 @ 2:59 am
NOOOO, PLEASE NOOOOOOO!!!!
Comment by Lorien — December 16, 2009 @ 8:38 am
i dunno, I thought the worst part of the LOTR movies was Elijah wood, and even though I agree that Tobey would be kinda bad, I think its actually a step up from wood!!!
Comment by michael bracco — December 16, 2009 @ 9:37 am
This is typical Hollywood actors floating a role. Basically Tobey wants the part, floated a trial balloon to see what hits he got, and backstepped it after the response. He doesn’t lose anything, doesn’t have to appear desperate before the director, and gets on del Toro’s radar. Well played, sir, well played.
Comment by Brett — December 16, 2009 @ 10:57 am
Brett – I think that’s probably close to the truth, which is exactly why I threw up a fuss over it. Tobey, if you’re reading this, nothing personal but…stay the hell out of Bag End!
Comment by Lorien — December 16, 2009 @ 4:55 pm
Yeah it sounds odd, but at the same time when the first LOTR came out I was appalled that Rudy was going to be Samwise. But he did a pretty good job, so I guess I’ll wait and see
Comment by DrNecropolis — December 16, 2009 @ 6:54 pm
Samwise was just one of many characters though, so no one was overwhelmed, and you’re right: he did do a good job. I’d take Astin over Maguire for this role, even if we didn’t know what Astin can do.
As you guys have said, there’s no issue with Maguire as an actor; he does fine in the roles that he does. This is just not one he should be anywhere near.
The first name that was ever rumored is probably still the best name for the job, and that’s James McAvoy.
Comment by The Movie God — December 16, 2009 @ 9:48 pm
NO.
Damnit Tobey, isn’t the continuation of you ruining Peter Parker enough?
*COUGH*AHEM*David Tennant please.
Comment by Tom Cheredar — December 17, 2009 @ 12:07 am
I second David Tennant. Good choice. Martin Freeman is probably my first choice. He plays the reluctant hero well. He was perfect in Hitchhiker’s. I can totally picture him answering his door multiple times to pairs of dwarves.
Comment by Slipstream — December 17, 2009 @ 2:17 am
Freeman is another really good one.
I’m not familiar with Doctor Who at all, so I can’t speak for Mr. Tennant, though he does look like a decent fit.
Comment by The Movie God — December 17, 2009 @ 10:44 pm
I agree about McAvoy and Freeman. Tobey is somewhat ruining the great name of Peter Parker (Spiderman1 = ok, Spiderman2 = Best so far, Spiderman3 = WTF!!).
Comment by J — December 18, 2009 @ 2:38 pm