The race to cast a slightly younger Bilbo Baggins has some breathing room since the film itself is in that limbo between its studio going bankrupt and promises that they will still make the movie.

But that doesn’t stop rumours! And it would seem that they are close to casting Bilbo Baggins with none other than The Doctor himself! No, not David Tennant – the seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy!

Live for Films gathers some rumours and hints:

The rumour comes from a Tweet via Screenrush that Bleeding Cool spotted. It states: Chalk this up to BS if you like but we bumped into former @doctorwho Sylvester McCoy last night and discovered he’s been cast in The Hobbit! Screenrush go on to say: Interestingly, McCoy’s agent would neither confirm nor deny the story, choosing instead to elicit an enigmatic “no comment”, but it has long been known that the Scottish actor came a close second to Peter Jackson’s final choice of Bilbo, Ian Holm. Now that Holm is knocking on 78 and McCoy is but a sprightly 66.

I do like the idea of casting McCoy as far as looks, personality and acting ability. Bilbo was hardly “young” even by Hobbit standards (he was 51 in The Hobbit). Frodo was 31 in Fellowship of the Rings, so a slightly older actor than that would be appropriate to portray his mentor. It was said that the ring gave him longevity, and he still appeared to be 50 at the age of 111 (his eleventy first birthday is celebrated in the opening of Fellowship) and after forfieting the ring his years caught up to him as depicted in the films.

And the likeness of the two actors is uncanny. I could see McCoy aging into the very image of Ian Holm over time.

But its all vague rumours, and while McCoy was originally considered for the role of Older Bilbo, its possible he could play his younger counterpart, but they may shoot younger altogether. McCoy is the oldest actor to be rumoured for the role, as much younger faces seemed to be speculated for the role before.