Amazon is now taking pre-orders for The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy Limited Extended Edition Blu-ray Edition.

While Peter Jackson‘s The Lord of the Rings movies are already out on Blu-ray, this new box set contains the extended versions of all the films, along with over 26 hours of behind-the-scenes and making-of bonus material, including the Costa Botes documentaries. It also comes with the digital versions of the films.

According to Amazon, this Blu-ray box set from New Line Home Video is scheduled to be released some time in 2011 or 2012. If you’re wondering why you should pre-order now, aside from getting it on the day of release, you’ll also lock in the current price of $83.99; if the price decreases between your order time and the end of the day of the release date, you’ll receive the lowest price.

See full details of the box set here below from the product page; you can also view the trailer.

For those of you just dying to feast your eyes on the first images of the cast of The Hobbit in costume, proving once and for all that yes, they are really making this movie…well, you’re going to have to wait a little longer.

Instead, 14 members of director Peter Jackson’s cast — 13 of which will be dwarves, 1 a familiar hobbit — met together for a press conference before filming begins on March 21. Attendees included star Martin Freeman, who’s set to play the main hobbit himself, Bilbo Baggins. He was joined by the likes of James Nesbitt, Richard Armitage, Aidan Turner, William Kircher, Rob Kazinsky, Peter Hambleton, Graham McTavish, John Callen, Jed Brophy, Mark Hadlow, and Adam Brown, among others.

At the meeting some images were snapped, naturally, giving us one of our first cast photos, which you can see above. You can also find out where to see a video of the press conference by continuing on below now.

After months of assuming that stars Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis would be returning for Peter Jackson‘s two-part adaptation of The Hobbit, but wondering just what was taking so long to officially lock them up, it’s been finally announced that the two actors will definitely be reprising their roles.

McKellen was Academy Award nominated for his work as Gandalf in Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Serkis should have gotten an Oscar nomination for his performance capture work as Gollum — both of which are important characters in J.R.R. Tolkien‘s first adventure in that world, The Hobbit. We’ve already heard of plenty of LOTR characters who weren’t part of The Hobbit but were being used anyway, so many worried where these two all-crucial actors were and why their casting was delayed.

Now that McKellen and Serkis are confirmed, all seems to be in place for the most part. There’s still casting to be done and work to complete before filming can ensue, but it looks like all systems are go for the planned February 14 start date.

Many of the stars of director Peter Jackson‘s epic trilogy adaptation of The Lord of the Rings have been expected to return for his adaptation of author J.R.R. Tolkien‘s first classic in the realms of Middle Earth, The Hobbit. And while not all of the actors have been confirmed yet — Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis, specifically — it’s still assumed that everyone is on board. How could they not want to anyway, right?

One name you might never have thought was returning, however, would be that of a one Mr. Elijah Wood, who famously played the lead character of Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Frodo is the “nephew” of Bilbo Baggins (played by Ian Holm first and to be played by Martin Freeman in the new films), who’s the main character of The Hobbit, which is set many years prior when he was but a young lad.

But despite what you may think, it’s being reported that Elijah Wood will indeed be joining the cast of The Hobbit. But in what aspect? Can this possibly work, or is the mythology messed up with Frodo’s inclusion? Keep in mind: in The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo began as a 33-year-old, and 17 whole years passed between the time Bilbo left Frodo the ring and the time that Gandalf returned to Bag End.

Click on over to the other side to find out exactly how Elijah Wood’s Frodo will play into Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit!

Another group of actors has been added to the cast of Peter Jackson‘s two-part adaptation of The Hobbit, and it includes a familiar face.

It’s being reported that Cate Blanchett will return to the role of Galadriel, the Elvin Lady of the Wood she played in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The character never appeared in J.R.R. Tolkien‘s Hobbit, but as it goes with adaptations, Jackson has decided to use her in some aspect of the story.

Of Blanchett’s return, Jackson said “Cate is one of my favorite actors to work with and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have her reprise the role she so beautifully brought to life in the earlier films.”