[spoilers] Richard Armitage

[Maike]

Someone emailed Sky and asked if RA would still do SB2 and the answers was that he will be written out and they intend to continue the series with two new leads. SB was an intense shot and RA was in almost every scene. They filmed four months last year and ten episodes would at least take six months. That would be impossible to combine with The Hobbit.

I personally think that RA has tried to get into movies and auditioned for various things for some time now. He has probably auditioned for the Hobbit for the first time about a year ago and known that he has the part (if/when it gets greenlight) for several months. Surely a clever agent would have negotiated clauses that allow him to leave Spooks or SB in case something better materializes.