The fourth Peter Jackson video blog from the set of The Hobbit focuses on the 3D, specifically the way they use the RED cameras, shooting in 5k, how much of a difference the 48 frames per second will make for the viewers and probably for the first time in the making of a movie, 3D artwork. So grab your red-cyan glasses and watch this awesome video blog right after the break.

This 10 minutes and 46 second video blog goes very in depth on the 3D and shows probably the most we’ve seen from The Hobbit yet. Peter Jackson talks about the original Lord of the Rings and how he would have filmed it in 3D if he had the possibility back then. Instead he made a lot of 3D pictures on the set of the trilogy so look forward to those in some fancy The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey 3D Blu-ray.

Because they use such big lens, getting the right separation with the RED cameras was definitely a challenge and we see how they solved that with special rigs that can actually adjust the convergence point of the 3D on the fly. We also see how challenging working in 3D is for the makeup and wardrobe team and how the sets had to be painted in very bright colors so that it looks right when shown in the darkening 3D.

48 RED cameras and 17 3D rigs are used to shoot The Hobbit and instead of giving the cameras numbers, they named them after family members or friends. At the end of the video they show how they made 3D artwork by having two artists, one working in red, the other in blue, side by side. To really appreciate their work you need a pair of red-cyan glasses.

The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey is directed by Peter Jackson and stars Martin Freeman, Luke Evans, Hugo Weaving, Evangeline Lily, Orlando Bloom, Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett, Andy Serkis, Christopher Lee, Ian McKellen, Stephen Fry and Ian Holm among others. The film follows the story of Bilbo Baggins and his journey to the Lonely Mountain accompanied by 13 dwarfs, to reclaim a treasure stolen from them by the dragon Smaug. It is set to open December 14th 2012 and will be followed a year later by The Hobbit: There and Back Again on December 13th 2013.

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TheOneRing.net confirmed on Friday that Ian Holm, who played Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, will return to play older Bilbo in The Hobbit.

Director Peter Jackson revealed the news on Facebook following his Easter update yesterday:

One comment that came up from the recent video blog was the Bilbo voice at the end—many of you assumed it was Sir Ian Holm. Whilst Ian will be returning as the older Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, that recording was actually Martin Freeman’s voice, taken from a script read through we recorded when the cast first arrived. I have to admit, I wasn’t sure who it was when I first heard it, either.

There has been plenty of speculation concerning which actors from the original trilogy will return. Ian McKellan has already begun filming as Gandalf, and Andy Serkis will return as Gollum and as the second unit director. Cate Blanchett (Galadriel), Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins), and Christopher Lee (Saruman) have also been confirmed by TheOneRing to return. It is rumored that Orlando Bloom (Legolas) and Hugo Weaving (Elrond) may make appearances as well, but nothing is for sure yet.

You can check out TheOneRing’s cast list here.

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There’s a party in Middle Earth and everyone’s invited. According to Deadline Andy Serkis has closed his deal to return as Gollum in The Hobbit, and Ian McKellen is “poised to return” as Gandalf (although his deal is still being worked out). Update: THR say McKellen is confirmed!

Not only that, Deadline mentions that Christopher Lee is in talks to reprise his role as Saruman, and Ian Holm is set to return as an older version of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman is playing the younger one).

This means we can expect to see most of the major players from The Lord of the Rings trilogy (however briefly) in The Hobbit. We’ve already heard about Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom and Cate Blanchett returning as Frodo, Legolas and Galadriel, and we can probably expect to hear about a few more as the February start date draws near.

Christopher Lee (who is approaching the grand age of 89) said back in 2008 that he would “be interested in seeing how [Saruman's] transition from good to evil occurred and, yes, of course I would return to the role if I was asked.” However he said travelling all the way to New Zealand would be “simply too far away” for him, but if they managed to set something up in London he would be interested. The actor also expressed interest in voicing Smaug, so we’ll have to see how that goes.

It looks like Peter Jackson and the team are trying to get as many familiar faces to return as possible, which I’m all for. Some characters may not have been mentioned directly in the book but they were still around. I wonder if we’ll see other characters such as Arwen, Aragorn or Gimli?

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It looks like we may finally be getting some casting announcements for The Hobbit! MTV spoke with director Guillermo del Toro and he expects to make an announcement in the next few weeks:

At Sundance in January, del Toro announced that he’d narrowed the search to just four actors. So when the director stopped by the MTV offices today to chat about his new vampire novel “The Strain,” everyone had to know the “Hobbit” question would rise again.

It did, and del Toro revealed that four possible Bilbos had now become one. “I believe we’re very close now to saying one name,” he said, adding that he expects to make an announcement in the next few weeks.

Ian Holm (seen above) played Bilbo in the trilogy, however The Hobbit is set before the Lord of the Rings and Ian Holm is nearly 80 so they obviously needed to recast the role. Personally, I hope Martin Freeman (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Hot Fuzz) gets the part, however we shall see…

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