The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson has been jetting round the world to meet with potential cast members of The Hobbit.

The furry fiend known as The Wolf Man first howled at the silvery moon in 1941 with a suitably hirsute Lon Chaney Jr in the lead role., joined in the golden age of beasty baddies like Frankenstein and Dracula back in the 40s. Almost 70 years later, the eponymous beast runs free again across the blood-spattered English countryside in director Joe Johnston‘s tongue in cheek -and exceedingly bloodthirthy – remake.

Hugo Weaving, who exploded onto our screens as Agent Smith in The Matrix, is set to play The Red Skull in the upcoming superhero epic. For those who don’t know the comic or the planned adaptation, The Red Skull is the Captain’s archenemy, the saboteur and spy who worked as Hitler’s right-hand man. It sounds like the two will be battling during World War Two, ending up in modern times due to their Super Solider status. For those who didn’t understand that, well done. You are not as geeky as us.

You may have picked up on a recent bit of harrumphing from certain quarters concerning Guilliermo del Toro’s Hobbit film: namely, production has been delayed, it hasn’t been formally greenlit by any studio yet, ergo we’re never going to see it and the world will surely be engulfed by a cleansing fire should a hairy-footed teaser trailer ever make it to Youtube.