Orlando Bloom will return for The Hobbit

After much speculation, Peter Jackson has confirmed that Lord Of The Rings star Orlando Bloom will return for The Hobbit .

Bloom had previously hinted at 'talks' and expressed an interest in returning to Middle Earth, but now his involvement is 100% official.

Thankfully the time difference between Lord Of The Rings and its Hobbit prequel won't affect the Kentish actor's portrayal of Legolas, as the immortal, ageless elf won't need any digital de-aging wizardry.

Here's Jackson's statement in full:

"Ten years ago, Orlando Bloom created an iconic character with his portrayal of Legolas. I'm excited to announce today that we'll be revisiting Middle Earth with him once more. I’m thrilled to be working with Orlando again. Funny thing is, I look older—and he doesn’t! I guess that's why he makes such a wonderful elf."

Bloom was one of the trilogy's real breakout stars, going from total unknown to worldwide superhunk. He followed the LOTR movies with roles in Troy and a little trilogy about pirates (or something), but he has never had a character as memorable as Legolas.

With his pretty boy good looks, graceful gait and irony-free earnestness, he was pretty perfect as an elf, so it's great to see him return.

The Hobbit: Part 1 will land in cinemas in December 2012.

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Matt Maytum is the former Editor of Total Film magazine. Over the past decade, Matt has worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.