According to an anonymous source, 29-year-old Scottish actor James McAvoy has been tipped to take the lead role of Bilbo Baggins in the new movie version of Lord Of The Rings prequel The Hobbit.

The character of Bilbo was played by Ian Holm in the previous films of the fantasy franchise, but he is expected to be replaced with a younger actor for the new movie. A source tells British newspaper the Daily Express, “A number of names have been doing the rounds, including Daniel Radcliffe and Jack Black, but James (McAvoy) is the one the film’s bosses really want. They’re expected to have talks soon so hopefully it could be confirmed in the not too distant future.”

In a recent chat, Director del Toro said concerning the role, “I can tell you it’s down to a few names that we all agree upon. And that our first choice…completely magically we all said the same name!”

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