Another batch of Cumberbatch

If you would have told me today that I'd be doing two articles about a guy who stars as the modern day Sherlock Holmes on the BBC I would have said that was as likely as Tim Tebow ever throwing for 4,000...no 3,000 yards in an NFL season.

Well I was sorely mistaken.

Actor Benedict Cumberbatch will not only be bringing his considerable acting talents to the Star Trek universe but also to Middle-Earth. Cumberbatch will be playing not one but two characters in Peter Jackson's upcoming The Hobbit. The English actor will play and voice Smaug the dragon, the former action coming to audiences via motion capture. Cumberbatch will also play (and voice?) Sauron* the main antagonist from the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Guess after a helping spoonful of heroism in "Sherlock" Cumberbatch is taking a big bite of villains. I'd like to say that filming Smaug through motion capture is an excellent idea. Andy Serkis was brilliant as Gollum in LOTR, and making Smaug a straight CGI character would have diminished the character. A bold choice by Peter Jackson and the right one. Can't wait to see what Cumberbatch brings to the role, unfortunately no one will know until the second part of The Hobbit debuts on December 13, 2013.

*The uber-nerd in me would be remiss if I didn't point out that Sauron actually doesn't appear in The Hobbit but is only alluded to by Gandalf. Sauron is also not known as Sauron then but as the Necromancer and his stronghold is not Barad-Dur in Mordor but in the southernmost part of Mirkwood in the fortress of Dol Guldur. Furthermore, although Gandalf and the council of wizards are able to roust Sauron from Mirkwood, these actions are never depicted in The Hobbit but (again) only alluded to and references in the LOTR appendicies. The fact that Peter Jackson is choosing to include these scenes in the upcoming movies is all kinds of awesome. I just hope that it doesn't detract from the main story which is ultimately Bilbo Baggins's tale.