It’s finally official! Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis will reprise their roles as Gandalf and Gollum, respectively, in The Hobbit. This news comes on the heels of Elijah Wood announcing his reprisal of Frodo Baggins as well as Cate Blanchett saying she’ll reprise her role as Galadriel.

According to Entertainment Weekly, McKellen and Serkis were rumored to be a part of the film for a while, but due to odd casting delays, it was up in the air as to whether they would actually be appearing in the film.

These announcements are also further proof that the film’s production is finally shaping up; ever since its inception, filming ofThe Hobbit had been stalled by directorial changes, production glitches, and money issues. It also suffered from possibly losing its main star; according to DenofGeek, Martin Freeman, who was cast as Bilbo Baggins, was originally unsure of signing onto the project for fear that it would threaten his work on the second season of the wildly successful show Sherlock.

Part one ofThe Hobbit, directed by Peter Jackson, is expected to be in theaters next year; the plot of the film involves Gandalf recruiting Bilbo on a quest to retrieve a dragon’s treasure.

Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis