Sylvester McCoy (Doctor Who) will be playing the wizard Radagast the Brown, and Cate Blanchett will be making a return to the storyline as Galadriel, the Lady of Lothlorien. Joining them will be Swedish actor Mikael Persbrandt as shape-shifter Beorn and British actor Ken Stott as the Dwarf Lord Balin.
Jed Brophy ("The Warrior's Way," "District 9") and William Kircher ("Out of the Blue," "City Life"), both New Zealanders, will be playing dwarves Nori and Bifur, respectively, and Ryan Gage (Outlaw, BBC's "Hamlet") will be playing Drogo, Bilbo Baggins' second cousin.
Filmimg will begin in New Zealand in February.
