I’m imagining them all together in a Hobbit home somewhere, the quartet of Peter Jackson, Philipa Boyens, Fran Walsh and Guillermo del Toro writing the two movies that will not only adapt J.R.R. Tolkien’s original Middle-Earth set novel but also will bridge the gap between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

EW have confirmed writing has now taken place with a forum member of The One Ring also claiming del Toro recently said in a Q & A for Hellboy II that the writing process on the film was “beautiful”.

The first movie in the new two part epic is set to be released in December 2011 and should begin shooting late next year.

We expect to hear the first casting of new roles around Christmas time, though we do already know that Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis will return as Gandalf and Gollum respectively.

source - coming soon