OMEN!-_-! said:
I've been hearing rumours that Ian Holm may be replaced by Martin Freeman at the beginning of FOTR in a new FOTR 'ultimate edition' that'll be released when The Hobbit comes out, but I REALLY REALLY hope that's not the case. I'm pretty sure that Peter Jackson would never do that to Ian Holm.
I believe, at most, they would replace the single shot of Ian finding the ring, and none of the rest of the film. I don't think they should either, but it's better than what they could do. At the same time, they've brought Ian (and Elijah Wood as Frodo) in to film bits with FOTR-era Bilbo for the intro to The Hobbit.