Earlier in the week, we reported that Martin Freeman had passed on the chance to play Bilbo Baggins in the upcoming pair of movies of The Hobbit, due to his commitments to the TV show Sherlock.

Sherlock has been confirmed for three new adventures in the autumn of 2011, and that's going to eat up 20 weeks of shooting time next year, which is set to clash, presumably, with the planned production of The Hobbit. Thus, Freeman had apparently had to pass on the role.

However, it appears that there's more to the story. Entertainment Weekly is now suggesting that Warner Bros (through its New Line subsidiary) and MGM have come back to Freeman with a new schedule, which should, in theory, allow him to make both The Hobbit and Sherlock. Entertainment Weekly also says that "all parties are currently negotiating a deal".

Even if Freeman agrees, meanwhile, there are still obstacles in front of the film. The Hobbit has no start date for its year-long production, given that financial frailties are still befalling the MGM studio, and as of now, there's still no confirmed director for the two movies, since Guillermo del Toro left the project.

It's widely expected that Peter Jackson will sign on the dotted line to direct, and we assume that, given negotiations with Freeman are apparently ongoing, the idea is to be shooting the film at least by next year.

We'll keep you posted on any developments. In the meantime, the Entertainment Weekly story can be found here.