You have my score...

In unsurprising but welcome tidings, Howard Shore is on board to compose the music for the two Hobbit films, saying “It looks like finally it’s going to be happening. I’ll be working on it for the next three years—it’s going to consume a lot of my time and work now.”

His sweeping, ethereal themes for The Lord of the Rings form an integral part of what makes those epic films such rich, memorable, and immersive experiences.

He’s won three Oscars for his work on the trilogy; Original Score for Fellowship of the Ring and Return of the King (The Two Towers not being eligible because that year the Academy had a rule disallowing scores with work from previous films), and Original Song for “Into the West” from Return of the King (shared with Fran Walsh and Annie Lennox).

Shore left Peter Jackson’s underrated 2005 King Kong remake over creative differences, to be replaced by Thomas Newton Howard, who came up with a score which was less memorable than Lord of the Rings but nonetheless brilliant. However, the split was apparently amicable, and Howard Shore is clearly the perfect composer for Middle Earth.

The visionary Peter Jackson is returning as director, with original Hobbit director Guillermo del Toro joining Lord of the Rings screenwriters Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens in adapting J.J.R. Tolkien’s book.

With the project now having received the official greenlight, Peter Jackson is busy gathering together a party to embark on this epic adventure. The cast announced so far includes Martin Freeman (Sherlock, The Office, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), James Nesbitt (Jekyll), Richard Armitage (Robin Hood, Spooks), Aidan Turner (Being Human), and Sylvester McCoy (Doctor Who), as well as Graham McTavish, John Callen, Stephen Hunter, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Rob Kazinsky, and Adam Brown. Key cast members from The Lord of the Rings are rumoured/assumed to be returning, but nothing is confirmed as yet.

The Hobbit Part 1 and The Hobbit Part 2 will be shot in 3D and released in December of 2012 and 2013 respectively. Filming is scheduled to start in New Zealand in February.

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Related:

Lord of the Rings symphony review

Martin Freeman and other Hobbit casting confirmed

Source Says The Hobbit Finally Given the Official Go-Ahead

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