Bilbo Baggins had played Frodo in the BBC radio series 20 years earlier. The movies omit the 17-year gap between Bilbo's 111th birthday and Frodo's departure from the Shire, as a result Bilbo mentions in Rivendell that he was unable to revisit the Lonely Mountain before his retirement. In Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" film series, a prequel to "The Lord of the Rings", the young Bilbo is portrayed by Martin Freeman while Ian Holm reprises his role as an older Bilbo in "" (2012) and "" (2014). The International Astronomical Union names all colles (small hills) on Saturn's moon Titan after characters
The Hobbit "Beowulf", including a monstrous, intelligent dragon. Certain descriptions in "The Hobbit" seem to have been lifted straight out of "Beowulf" with some minor rewording, such as when the dragon stretches its neck out to sniff for intruders. Likewise, Tolkien's descriptions of the lair as accessed through a secret passage mirror those in "Beowulf". Other specific plot elements and features in "The Hobbit" that show similarities to "Beowulf" include the title "thief", as Bilbo is called by Gollum and later by Smaug, and Smaug's personality, which leads to the destruction of Lake-town. Tolkien refines parts of "Beowulf" plot that he appears