Elijah Wood tells Yahoo! about returning to Middle-earth for ‘The Hobbit’

More than a decade after he first set off on his epic quest, Elijah Wood returned to Middle-earth.

The 31-year-old actor sat down with Yahoo! TV recently to discuss the upcoming second season of his FX Network series "Wilfred." In the process, he shed a little light on his recent journey back to New Zealand to take part in the filming of "The Hobbit," the two-part adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien book that preceded "The Lord of the Rings."

[Related: Elijah Wood stars in 'Wilfred']

The new film reunites Wood with Peter Jackson, the Oscar-winning director of the original "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, along with some of his costars from the earlier films. While Wood's character, Frodo Baggins, apparently has a very small role in "The Hobbit," -- you can briefly see him in the movie's trailer -- being back with his old fellowship made a deep impact on him.

Wood told Yahoo! TV he went back to New Zealand in October of 2011, and while he only actually filmed for three days he stayed there for a month. It was a far cry for him from shooting the original trilogy, which spanned nearly five years. In addition to working with Jackson (and taking part in the director's 50th birthday celebration), Wood said he got to see Ian McKellen, who is reprising the role of the wizard Gandalf. He also worked once again with Andy Serkis, who, in addition to once again providing the motion capture for Gollum, is the second-unit director for the film.

"It kind of felt like a family reunion," Wood said. "I think I anticipated it feeling more surreal than it ended up feeling." He recalled being back on the set of Bag End, the house belonging to Frodo's uncle Bilbo Baggins, and once again wearing his prosthetic hobbit ears and feet. He said, "What struck me is that it just felt like no time had passed, and suddenly we were just doing it again."

[Photos: 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' movie stills]

"The Hobbit" will be released in two parts, with the first film, "An Unexpected Journey," arriving in theaters on December 14, 2012, and the second coming out a year later. But you can catch Elijah Wood on "Wilfred" when it returns to FX on June 28.

Watch the first trailer for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey":