Bret? Present! Yes, in a move that will please all devotees of legendary elf Figwit (not to mention Kristen Schaal’s obsessed Mel), Flight of the Conchords star Bret McKenzie has signed on to the cast of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit.
McKenzie made an impression on fans of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King as a non-speaking Elf whose followers named Figwit, which stood for Frodo Is Great, Who Is That? But while McKenzie will be back, we must regretfully inform Figwit fans that he’s not playing the same Rivendell occupant.
Nope, while he’ll still be found in the tree-lined enclave, he’s now playing Lindir, an Elf composer. And hopefully he’ll have lines this time.
Jackson has finally been able to kick off shooting on the two films that will comprise The Hobbit’s adventures, with a cast including Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett and Andy Serkis alongside a multitude of new faces playing Elves, Dwarfs and others.
There’s no locked release date for either film, though we can expect them around December 2012 and 2013.
Meanwhile, we firmly expect a ‘net campaign to launch to get Jemaine Clement and Rhys Darby into the film(s) as well. Flight of the Conchords reunion FTW!