Evangeline Lilly Joins 'The Hobbit'

Evangeline Lilly has officially joined the cast of Peter Jackson‘s The Hobbit, Deadline reports.

The 31-year-old Lost actress and new mama will be playing a woodland elf named Tauriel.

Peter wrote on his Facebook page, “Evangeline Lilly will be playing a new character…Her name means ‘daughter of Mirkwood’ and, beyond that, we must leave you guessing!”

“What is not a secret is how talented and compelling an actress Evangeline is; we are thrilled and excited she will be the one to bring our first true Sylvan Elf to life,” he added.

Peter also made note that there would not be a romantic connection between Evangeline‘s character and Legolas, the character made famous by Orlando Bloom.

The Hobbit is set to be released in 2012.