Saruman in the Hobbit?
I think the film trilogy of the Lord of the Rings was most successful when it it didn't stray too far from its literary roots. Of course there were many liberties taken and Jackson and company showed very good judgement in what to abbreviate and condense...but it gets me a bit queasy reading about how they're expanding upon barely mentioned sub-plots. If done well, I can't get enough of this world but, damn... that's the million dollar question, though, isn't it? I feel that the films' enormous success breeds a certain lack of restraint and a sense of narrative hubris that, ten years ago, Jackson and his writing partners didn't have. Please remember that these were the filmmakers who had the cast and crew reading the books on the set just so they could get it right. With half of this new Hobbit series, they won't have that kind of guidance.

Until I see the films, I'm keeping the faith...

Found this online:

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This bit of news doesn't come as much of a surprise but it's worth passing along. Christopher Lee has officially told the media via Empire Online that he would happily return to middle earth in the upcoming Hobbit installments. Most of the leading actors from the original Peter Jackson-led trilogy have expressed their willingness to return to their characters, which include Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Viggo Mortensen, Sir Ian McKellen and Orlando Bloom.

While McKellen's Gandalf and Weaving's Elrond were the only ones actually in the Hobbit novel, there's tons of notes from author J.R.R Tolkien on the White Council meeting and eventually driving off the "evil" from Mirkwood forest, the same evil that would come back to claim Mordor. Executive producer Peter Jackson and director Guillermo Del Toro plan to use sub-plots like this to fill the gap between the Hobbit events and The Lord of the Rings.

Here's what Lee had to say.

"I'd be interested in seeing how that transition from good to evil occurred and, yes, of course I would return to the role if I was asked."