The Sun is reporting that actor Martin Freeman, best known for his roles as Tim on the British Office and as Arthur Dent in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, has turned down an offer to play Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s perpetually upcoming prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit. His apparent declination was due to his 20 week commitment to shoot new episodes of the awesome BBC Masterpiece Theatre miniseries Sherlock. But over at FirstShowing, they’re reporting that MGM and New Line are willing to rearrange The Hobbit‘s shooting schedule to accomodate Freeman! Peter Jackson must really love the idea of Freeman in the role if he’s willing to work around a pre-existing 20 week commitment, and frankly, I think Freeman would make a terrific Bilbo. But how much of what we’re reading is true? Will Freeman really play Bilbo? Or will this become just another casting rumour like when David Tennant was announced as the young Mr. Baggins? And does any of this actually mean that The Hobbit has moved beyond the pre-production stage? As soon as I know, dear readers, so too shall you.