Lord of the Rings star Orlando Bloom has joined the cast of Peter Jackson's upcoming Hobbit movies -- even though his character, the elf Legolas , doesn’t appear in J. R. R. Tolkien’s original novel. Jackson announced the casting in a Facebook post Friday. “Ten years ago, Orlando Bloom created an iconic character with his portrayal of Legolas," he wrote. "I’m excited to announce today that we’ll be revisiting Middle Earth with him once more. I’m thrilled to be working with Orlando again.” Jackson is currently directing the two-movie adaptation in New Zealand. He helped catapult Bloom to stardom by giving him his first major film roles as Legolas in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Looking back, Jackson wrote on his Facebook page, "I look older — and he doesn’t! I guess that’s why he makes such a wonderful elf." The Hobbit movies, which have been in the works for 14 years, has faced a series of setbacks. In 2005, Jackson filed suit against New Line