Irish actress Saoirse Ronan, who earned acclaim for roles in Atonement and The Lovely Bones, reportedly will reunite with director Peter Jackson for The Hobbit.

The news comes courtesy of an interview with veteran casting director Ros Hubbard, who was asked by the Irish Film & Television Network about "the large Irish presence" in the two-part prequel to The Lord of the Rings. (Irishmen Aidan Turner and James Nesbitt play dwarves Kili and Bofur.)

There's no word yet what character the 16-year-old Ronan might play in The Hobbit, a novel lacking in female roles. But Film School Rejects finds a couple of possibilities in a casting call that went out a year ago: a woodland elf created for the film named Itaril, a young fighter who secretly falls in love with a young elven lord; and Primula Brandybuck, a lively and observant young hobbit who later becomes Frodo's mother.

The Hobbit, which stars Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett and a host of others, will be released in December 2012 and December 2013. Although filming was set to begin next month, production has been delayed while Jackson recovers from surgery.