After one or two uncertainties arose over the greenlight for the films at the end of last year, the two Hobbit movies are set to start filming in June, it's been announced.

The news was broken by Production Weekly, and the 14 months of shooting will be starting this summer in New Zealand. Guillermo del Toro is, of course, behind the camera for the films, although the cast of the two movies - and the central role of Bilbo Baggins - is yet to be confirmed. We'd expect some kind of announcement in the next couple of months.

All this means that the first Hobbit film should be on track for a Christmas 2011 release, which should put it head to head with the next James Bond adventure. The second film will follow a year later. We really can't wait...

Production Weekly