“LOST” starlet Evangeline Lilly has been cast in Peter Jackson’s eagerly anticipatedbig screen adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. The beautiful 31-year-old will play Tauriel, a woodland elf character created for the film.

Says Jackson:

Evangeline Lilly will be playing a new character—the Woodland Elf, Tauriel. Her name means ‘daughter of Mirkwood’ and, beyond that, we must leave you guessing! (No, there is no romantic connection to Legolas.)

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.

Lilly joins a large cast that includes many familiar faces: Ian McKellan, Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis, and Christopher Lee. Among the new faces are Luke Evans, Lee Pace, Stephen Fry, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins.

The Hobbit will be split into two movies: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (release date: Dec. 14, 2012) and The Hobbit: There and Back Again (release date: Dec. 13, 2013). Production is currently underway in New Zealand.

Lilly, best known for playing fugitive Kate Austin on ABC’s “LOST,” will soon be seen in DreamWorks upcoming Hugh Jackman vehicle Rock’em, Sock’em Robots Real Steel.