Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for Peter Jackson‘s The Hobbit: The Battle Of Five Armies. If you weren’t at the San Diego Comic-Con last weekend, then you might have missed some pretty epic footage in what is already one of the most highly anticipated films of the year. We’ve been told that this will be the least comical of the entire trilogy, with the concluding chapter being the darkest of the three in terms of tone. Which is true considering we hear Pippin (Billy Boyd) sing “The Steward of Gondor.” It’s a sad and somber song that will define this film, as does the question posed to Bilbo by Throin at the end of the trailer, in which he asks: “Will you follow me, one last time?” I think that is the perfect question for the exhausting ride we’ve all been on for this trilogy, which I hope will be a better experience than the last two. Hit the jump to see the first trailer for the final Hobbit film.
Starring Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Fry, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Ken Stott, James Nesbitt, and Orlando Bloom, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies opens in theaters on December 17th.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and the Company of Dwarves. Having reclaimed their homeland from the Dragon Smaug, the Company has unwittingly unleashed a deadly force into the world. Enraged, Smaug rains his fiery wrath down upon the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town.
Obsessed above all else with his reclaimed treasure, Thorin sacrifices friendship and honor to hoard it as Bilbo’s frantic attempts to make him see reason drive the Hobbit towards a desperate and dangerous choice. But there are even greater dangers ahead. Unseen by any but the Wizard Gandalf, the great enemy Sauron has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon the Lonely Mountain.
As darkness converges on their escalating conflict, the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must decide – unite or be destroyed. Bilbo finds himself fighting for his life and the lives of his friends in the epic Battle of the Five Armies, as the future of Middle-earth hangs in the balance.