Evangeline Lilly to Play Elf Maiden in Peter Jackson's Two-Part 'The Hobbit' Movies

"Lost" and "Hobbit/Lord of the Rings" fans, hold onto your firewood! "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson announced yesterday that Evangeline Lilly of "Lost" fame has been cast as a Mirkwood elf maiden in the two-part "The Hobbit," the prequel to "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Jackson told his fans on Facebook, "Lilly will be playing a new character--the Woodland Elf, Tauriel. Her name means 'daughter of Mirkwood' and, beyond that, we must leave you guessing! (No, there is no romantic connection to Legolas.) What is not a secret is how talented and compelling an actress Evangeline is; we are thrilled and excited she will be the one to bring our first true Sylvan Elf to life."

Evangeline Lilly is no stranger to communing with nature having lived in a grass hut in the Philippines when she worked as a foreign missionary. Making the move to a hut on the set of Lost as Kate Austen was not a great leap for Lilly. From the wooded Hawaiian jungle set Lilly will now make the transition to the equally exotic locations in New Zealand where "The Hobbit" will be filmed. Jackson announced in the same Facebook post that "The Hobbit" Filmakers are currently doing location scouting. The Mirkwood setting promises to be an imposing New Zealand woodland.

Lilly is not the first "Lost" cast member to have a "Lord of the Rings " connection. Dominic Monaghan, who played Merry Brandybuck in all three "The Lord of the Rings" movies, played rock star Charlie Pace on "Lost." In addition, "Lost," like "Lord of the Rings," was steeped in Christian symbols as well as religious mythology.

Although the character of Tauriel was not written by J.R.R. Tolkien, Peter Jackson has already had some success rewriting and recreating Tolkien characters, such as the Rivendell she-elf Arwen, a hybrid version of two Tolkien characters (Arwen and Glorfindel). Jackson likes strong female characters, so it should be interesting to see what he does with elfin Tauriel. While her fans are more used to seeing a tan Evangeline Lilly in a bikini, now they will have to get used to Lilly with pale elvish skin, pointy ears, and the more medieval elvish attire.

Evangeline Lilly joins a stellar cast for "The Hobbit" which also includes Martin Freeman, Ian Holm, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, and Andy Serkis. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," and "The Hobbit: There and Back Again," are due for release in December 2012 and 2013 and currently in production in New Zealand.

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