Peter Jackson casts a replacement Fili in The Hobbit

Peter Jackson's Facebook page is a fascinating source of information on all things Hobbit -related.

Yesterday he used it to announce the replacement casting of dwarf Fili, after Rob Kazinsky had to depart the production for personal reasons last week.

Stepping up is New Zealander Dean O'Gorman, best known for TV series The Almighty Johnsons .

In PJ's words: "Dean O'Gorman will be playing Fili. Dean's a terrific Kiwi actor, who I am thrilled to be working with.

"He's recently been in an excellent TV series down here called The Almighty Johnsons , and I should let fans of that show know that our shooting schedule allows Dean to continue with a second series next year.

"Dean will be joining us next week."

Jackson also used the opportunity to announce another new cast member, with Lee Pace ( Pushing Daisies ) coming aboard as Elven King Thranduil.

PJ stated: "He's going to be great. We loved his performance in a movie called The Fall a few years ago, and have been hoping to work with him since.

"When we were first discussing who would be right for Thranduil, Lee came into mind almost immediately."

In a final exciting Hobbit tidbit, Jackson also shared a photo of an old friend who had come to visit the set:

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.