Philippa Boyens
Philippa Boyens has revealed that Guillermo Del Toro was a huge supporter of creating female elf character Tauriel in The Hobbit.
Del Toro was originally set to direct The Hobbit and worked with Boyens, Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson.
Tauriel is a character that has been created especially for the movie, and Del Toro was keen to see her inclusion in the movie.
Speaking to Total Film, Boyens said: "He was there when we decided [on] the female character. And he was very much a strong supporter of that.
"What was nice about it is that you’re taking a risk. You’re messing with somebody else’s story, and you have to kind of do it the right way. And [del Toro] was someone who was, like, ‘Yes, we should do this!’"
Evangeline Lily has gone on to play Tauriel, and we were introduced to the character for the first time in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug this weekend.
Tauriel is just one of the major elf characters that we see in the second film as Legolas and Thranduil - played by Orlando Bloom and Lee Pace - also play huge parts.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has been met well by the critics and has already topped the U.S. box office.
The third and final instalment will hit the big screen this time next year.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is out now.
Tagged in The Hobbit