How about some good news regarding The Hobbit? Earlier today, we reported that the ever-troubled production of J.R.R. Tolkein’s classic has hit another bump in the road in the form of director Peter Jackson’s recent ulcer causing a slight delay in filming. Well now, we have something positive to report regarding the project. It appears that actress Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), who worked with Jackson on The Lovely Bones, will be a part of The Hobbit cast after all. In an interview with IFTN (via TheOneRing.net), one of the casting directors on the film spilled the beans about Ronan’s involvement:

“And working with Peter Jackson is like working with a family. So they’ll have a great time. Saoirse’s family will go too, everyone is very close and very loving on those sorts of jobs. It’s not like typical studio movies at all.”

The casting director also stated most of the cast is already out in New Zealand now, with production on the two-part adaptation set to begin in the next couple of weeks. Ronan’s a fantastic actress, and her addition to the ever-growing cast list of The Hobbit films is definitely good news. The Hobbit Part I is scheduled to be released in December 2012, with The Hobbit Part II set to follow in December 2013.