Evangeline Lilly is playing a Woodland Elf named Tauriel in The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug. It’s a new character created by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens. So far we’ve only seen a blurry toy packaging photo of the character. We also know she’ll utter the lines “Come now” and “The cells are empty” in elvish at some point.
Now we have the first official photo of Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel, as well as some quotes from Lilly about the character.
“She’s slightly reckless and totally ruthless and doesn’t hesitate to kill,” says Lilly. […] “Tauriel is the head of the Elven Guard,” Lilly explains. “She’s a Sylvan Elf, which means she’s of a much lower order than the elves we all became acquainted with in The Lord of the Rings. She doesn’t hold the same kind of status that Arwen or Galadriel or Elrond or Legolas do — she’s much more lowly. She sort of goes against the social order of the elves a little bit.”
Tauriel isn’t only a fierce warrior; she has a softer side, too. “She will definitely have a love story,” Lilly says. “I can’t give away too much about it. It’s not a huge focus but it is there and it is important and it does drive Tauriel and her story and her actions.” Will that romance involve Orlando Bloom’s Legolas, by any chance? Lilly won’t say definitively one way or the other, but she does offer this much: “Tauriel’s relationship with Legolas is significant. They’ve known each other since they were children, and Legolas’ dad, [Elven king] Thranduil, has a soft spot for Tauriel and sees something very special in her. So if you grow up side by side, and your dad has a very special spot in his heart for this young woman who’s a fantastic warrior, I think it’s hard not to notice her.” [Entertainment Weekly via The Playlist]
To clarify, Aiden Turner (who plays Kili the dwarf) has already said his character has a thing for Tauriel. That doesn’t necessarily mean Orlando Bloom can’t be her love interest as well. Nor does it mean we can’t write fanfic about a love triangle between the three which ends with Kili and Legolas getting married and opening a furniture store in Mirkwood. Nor does it mean we haven’t already written that fanfic.