First Look at Evangeline Lilly’s Character in The Hobbit

It’s still months away, but it looks like things are already getting into gear to promote the heck out of the upcoming Hobbit sequel, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Today we have our first look at a completely new character. No seriously, completely new, as in she wasn’t even in the books. Evangeline Lilly will be playing a red-haired elf warrior, and leader of the Elven Guard of Mirkwood. She’s named Tauriel, a character that never appears in any of Tolkien’s writing, but was created specifically for the films as a way to balance out the overwhelmingly male cast.

Tolkien purists will probably be up in arms once this news gets around, but Tauriel also allows for the story to explore the lower orders of elves. She’s a Silvan elf, far below the level of elves we get to know in Lord of the Rings (Legolas is Sindarin despite living in Mirkwood). So she might not be canon herself, but her character could open up some interesting discussions on more obscure parts of canon that should pique Ringers’ attention.

Tauriel is also supposedly going to have a love story that drives her character and actions. (Ignore me while I go flail about in annoyance that the only female character that they decided to create just had to have a romantic storyline as her motivation and basis for her character). Further details are being kept close to the chest at the moment, but it should be interesting to see how this brand new character turns out.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug will be released December 13. What do you think about the addition of a new character to the beloved world of Middle Earth? Do you think it’s fair that Peter Jackson wanted to add a female character into a story that otherwise would lack any strong female roles (or any at all, really), or would you rather he keep his hands off your preciousssss canon? Let us know in the comments below!

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