We still have yet to hear anything concrete about the big screen version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, but that hasn’t stopped people from getting into some heated debates over who should direct and how much continuity the movie should share with Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy. One interesting claim that seems to have cropped up recently is that the lead role of Bilbo Baggins, played by Ian Holm in the LOTR flicks, may in fact end up going to a different, younger actor. The name that has been produced as a potential candidate is Martin Freeman (The Office, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)!

While I could definitely see Freeman as a hobbit, MTV Movies Blog has already debunked this rumour. It turns out he has recently met with Peter Jackson, but it was actually regarding Jackson’s upcoming film The Lovely Bones, not The Hobbit. (The embarassing thing is that he didn’t get the part!) So as it stands right now, we’re no closer to knowing anything about who might play Bilbo Baggins. Do you think it should be Ian Holm or would you understand if they gave the gig to someone else? Personally I don’t think the project should necessarily be tied down to Peter Jackson’s vision of Middle Earth — but hey that’s just me.