Over the last year, we've made it a point to ask as many of the original actors from "Lord of the Rings" as possible to chime in with their opinion of the eventual "Hobbit" movie, and more specifically, to weigh in with whether or not they'd be game to re-enter the world of Middle Earth.

Sure, not all of their characters appear in "The Hobbit," but with a second, transitional film that takes place in the years between the two novels, could we possibly see Aragorn, Frodo, Galadriel, and the rest back for another go round? To hear the actors themselves say it, the answer was a resounding yes.

Well, it's time to put down the pipe weed, Viggo, dust off those ears, Cate, practice your archery Orlando, and get ready to walk around barefoot, Sean and Elijah -– you're about to get asked to go "back again." Read more...

Attention Cate Blanchett, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, and Sean Astin: You've gone "There." Now get ready to go "Back Again" - at least according to Elijah Wood's conversations with "Hobbit" maestro Peter Jackson.

"I haven't spoken to him directly about it [but] I've e-mailed him, and as far as I know the two films that they're doing, one will be 'The Hobbit' and another will take place between the 60 years that happened between 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings,'" the once and future Frodo enthused to MTV News, possibly confirming rumors that the second planned film would not be a Part II, but instead a narrative bridge.

Which means plenty of opportunities for all the stars of "LOTR" to reprise their famous characters in some capacity. None more so, perhaps, than Wood himself, who would arguably be a central figure along with Gandalf, Aragorn, Galadriel, and Gollum in any connecting story. Read more...

In some alternate universe, movie fans might be watching Christopher Walken as Han Solo, Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones, Eddie Murphy in "Ghostbusters" and Steve McQueen in "The Bodyguard." Recently, I went digging for a few more of these "What if?" Hollywood near-casting tales, and I dug up a few doozies like this: Nicolas Cage was almost in "Lord of the Rings" and "The Matrix"?

"Movies I may have done, but didn't do," the "National Treasure" leading man repeated recently, when I asked about some of the many roles (including Superman) that he nearly landed in his two decades at the top of the Hollywood food chain. "Yeah, there was a couple of movies that I was offered, but I had good reasons, so I couldn't do it." Read more...

Still buzzing from the advance buzz of "The Golden Compass" at New Line's 40th anniversary gala in New York on Friday night, New Line's co-chairmen and co-CEO's Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne were in great spirits -- so we figured they wouldn't mind a little "Hobbit" question. After all, "Golden Compass" features a mini "Lord of the Rings" reunion of sorts, with Ian McKellan (who of course played Gandalf) voicing the panserbjørne Iorek Byrnison, and Christopher Lee (who played the traitor wizard Saruman) making a cameo in the Magisterium (The voice you hear in the trailer is pre-McKellan, with a different voice actor).

So could a bigger "Lord of the Rings" reunion be in the making, as a "cautiously optimistic" Entertainment Weekly reports, possibly with Peter Jackson as the executive producer and someone else directing "The Hobbit"? (Hear what we learned after the jump.) Read more...

The choice is a clear one: take the One Ring and become a terrible queen of light, or refuse its power and diminish. For Galadriel, the Elven Lady of Lorien, the temptation is resisted and the ring denied. But not for the woman who played her. During a recent interview, a smiling Cate Blanchett insisted she would love to once again grab hold of some "Ring" mojo, and step again into Galadriel's pointy shoes for a "Hobbit" film.

"I haven't heard a thing [about a potential 'Hobbit' film]," she declared. "But, oh God, I would love to work with Hugo [Weaving] and Peter [Jackson] again."

Blanchett is the latest "Lord of the Rings" actor to tell MTV that she'd consider playing her character again for a prequel series. Like Viggo Mortensen or Orlando Bloom, Blanchett's character doesn't exactly appear in "The Hobbit," although thanks to J.R.R. Tolkien's extensive later backstories, her insertion would be completely unproblematic. In fact, it's hard to envision a "Hobbit" film WITHOUT Galadriel, particularly if the film covers any of the period between the defeat of Smaug and the War of the Ring. Read more...

Should a "Hobbit" movie ever actually get made (and, frankly, we sometimes have our doubts), we want as many of the actors from "Lord of the Rings" to reprise their roles as possible - even the ones, like Viggo Mortensen and Orlando Bloom, whose characters aren't actually even in the book. In the last few months, we've made it our mission to ask as many of them as we could about their potential involvement.

But one actor we wouldn't want to see return is actually the actor when it comes to a Hobbit movie. While wizards and elves and part elf-men all age slowly (or not at all), hobbits get old quick, and we can't imagine a 51-year-old Bilbo played by the same actor who brought him to life on his eleventy-first birthday.

But if not Ian, than who? How about "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" star Martin Freeman? Internet scuttlebutt has him front and center as a replacement candidate, and no one can argue that he doesn't looks the part. So when we caught up with "The Office" alum while he was promoting his new film "The Good Night," we asked him to address the hubbub. Read more...

Orlando Bloom seems to be shying away from playing the great elf Legolas in "The Hobbit," that is unless his original "Lord of the Rings" helmer is behind the camera. "Who's directing it, Peter Jackson?" he mockingly answered when asked about the possibility.

Yes, we know that Legolas isn't technically in "The Hobbit," and to his eternal credit, Bloom knows this as well. But dedicated "Rings" fans know that Legolas is an elf from the realm of Mirkwood, a kingdom Bilbo Baggins and his dwarf companions get captured in towards the end of "The Hobbit," imprisoned there by the Elvenking Thranduil.

Given, then, that Bilbo spends much time during "The Hobbit" at Mirkwood, and given, too, that Thranduil is Legolas's father — it seems inconceivable that filmmakers wouldn't choose to include the popular character in some capacity. "Maybe they'll create a subplot for Legolas," Bloom said, though later adding that "I think we covered [his story] with 'Lord of the Rings.'"

Would Legolas in "The Hobbit" be a good idea, with or without Peter Jackson? Sound off below.