So...no Christopher Lee?
The story went that he said that was too old to travel to NZ for the shoot, but I’m not sure what the final resolution was. They should do whatever is necessary for him to appear, including filming some scenes in London if necessary; if they had to recast Saruman, it would hurt the films.
The Lord.of.the.Ring.Net site showed Christopher Lee as confirmed last month, but he isn’t on the list. On the other hand Orlando Bloom is mot listed either, and he is definitely confirmed to appear as Legolas (who is hundreds of years old and is a wood elf).