AceShowbiz -

Though news coming from "The Hobbit" earlier have offered an upsetting reports suggesting that the production of the fantasy movie may perhaps end up to be shut down, the casting speculations still continue to resolve around the tidbit. Words are now circulating that rising star James McAvoy is the leading contender to portray the main hobbit character, Bilbo Baggins.

According to The Daily Express, the studio producing the J.R.R. Tolkien's novel adaptation have listed several possible candidates for the adventurous "Halflings", including also "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe and comedian Jack Black. It is further said that the one that is most likely to be cast is McAvoy, though no reasoning on the preference is offered. "A number of names have privately been doing the rounds, including Daniel Radcliffe and Jack Black but James is the one the film's bosses really want," explained an insider. "They're expected to have talks with him soon so hopefully it could be confirmed in the not too distant future."

Concerning the casting rumor, "Hobbit" director Guillermo del Toro unveiled that he and producer Peter Jackson have discussed about it in the recent meeting, but he didn't go further hinting on any specific actor's name. "I can tell you it's down to a few names that we all agree upon. For our first choice, completely magically, we all said the same name," so claimed the helmer.

To be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures on December 1, 2011, "Hobbit" is the first of two films to be made based on Tolkien's novel of the same name. This movie will follow Bilbo as he is hired by Gandalf with 13 dwarves to gain back the Lonely Mountain's treasure from the dragon Smaug. So far, it has been noted that Andy Serkis, Ian McKellen and Viggo Mortensen have been contacted to reprise their roles as Gollum, Gandalf and Aragon respectively.