Though the past couple months have introduced us to numerous new and returning residents of Middle-earth, we can kiss one familiar hobbit goodbye for good: Merry Brandybuck, played by Dominic Monaghan ("Lost," "Flash Forward") in the original "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

When we met up with Monaghan at San Diego Comic-Con, we asked if there's any chance we'll see his furry feet grace the screen in "The Hobbit."

"I don't think so," he told us regretfully. "In terms of would I want to? Of course. It's an amazing project and something I'd be overjoyed to work on."

"Elijah [Wood] is going down there and I might go down with him to check all the stuff out," he added.

Monaghan, who's currently in San Diego promoting his digital indie "Millionaire Tour" with web studio Viguru, doesn't take the "Hobbit" exclusion personally.

"I think they're concerned about making it feel a little too cookie-cutter by putting everyone in there," he explained. "Some of the real popular characters will come back - Orlando [Bloom] is going to be in it, Elijah's going to be in it -- obviously Ian [McKellan] and Andy [Serkis] are going to be in it."

Monaghan has no plans to let the "LOTR" reunion pass him by, though.

He assured us, "Billy [Boyd] and I will be on the red carpet, yukking it up and having fun."

http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/dominic-monaghan-hobbit-news/