Director Peter Jackson announced two new additions to the cast of The Hobbit. Lee Pace (Pushing Daises) is set to star as the Elven King Thranduil. In The Lord of the Rings mythology, Thrandull is the father of Legolas and plays a supporting role in The Hobbit. Additionally, Kiwi actor Dean O'Gorman will be playing Fili, a dwarf and one of the twelve companions of Bilbo. Posting the news on his Facebook page, here’s what Jackson had to say about the casting of Pace:

“Casting these Tolkien stories is very difficult, especially the Elven characters, and Lee has always been our first choice for Thranduil. 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.”

While I’m not familiar with O’Gorman, the addition of Pace to the cast is great news. He turned in some fantastic work in Bryan Fuller’s criminally underrated TV series Pushing Daisies, and his involvement is certainly exciting. The Hobbit will be broken into two parts.  Part 1 is set for December 2012 and Part 2 will come out in December 2013.  Hit the jump for a synopsis of the book.

Here’s the synopsis for J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit:

Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit, is a peaceful sort of cozy hole in the Shire, a place where adventures are uncommon and rather unwanted. So when the wizard Gandalf whisks him away on a treasure hunting expedition with a troop of rowdy dwarves, he’s not entirely thrilled. Encountering ruthless trolls, beastly orcs, gigantic spiders, and hungry wolves, Bilbo discovers within himself astonishing strength and courage. And at the ultimate confrontation with the fearsome dragon Smaug, the hobbit will brave the dangers of dark and dragon fire alone and unaided. [Amazon]

-