The director of The Hobbit took to his Facebook today to announce two new cast members. One of the actors is fresh out of filming Twilight.

Lee Pace (pictured) – who recently finished filming his role as Garrett in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – will play Elven King Thranduil. Jackson says of Pace:

Casting these Tolkien stories is very difficult, especially the Elven characters, and Lee has always been our first choice for Thranduil. He’s going to be great. We loved his performance in a movie called “The Fall” a few years ago, and have been hoping to work with him since. When we were first discussing who would be right for Thranduil, Lee came into mind almost immediately.

Meanwhile, Dean O’Gorman will be playing Fili. He is replacing Robert Kazinsky, who had to leave the production for personal reasons. Jackson had this to say of O’Gorman:

Dean’s a terrific Kiwi actor, who I am thrilled to be working with. He’s recently been in an excellent TV series down here called “The Almighty Johnsons”, and I should let fans of that show know that our shooting schedule allows Dean to continue with a second series next year. Dean will be joining us next week.

What do you think of these latest casting choices?