Beyond darkness, beyond desolation, lies the greatest danger of all. The first trailer for the next entry in Peter Jackson‘s The Hobbit trilogy, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, has arrived!
It’s a thrilling and intense affair, as Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and Co. continue their quest to reclaim the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor. Numerous perils await our travelers including: spiders, orcs, bears and a rather frightening dragon.
It’s our first proper look at Smaug – his head at least. The creature voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch is pretty damn impressive. The final showdown should be quite something.
It’s also the first appearance of Middle Earth favourite Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and new character Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly), who was created for the films. Both appear to play a large role in proceedings and there’s definitely some chemistry there. I wonder how that will play out and whether Tolkien fans will give it the thumbs up?
Crank this trailer up to HD and enjoy.
It’s a great first trailer. They don’t give much of the plot away but the film definitely appears to be darker and more intense than the first – a good thing.
There’s still hints of the cartoon-like action that drew a mixed reception from audiences and critics in the first film, but that barrel sequence does look pretty cool. Let’s hope it doesn’t turn out to be a pod-race moment – Star Wars fans will know what I mean.
And on to Smaug. I really like the look of our fire breathing destroyer. It’s gonna be interesting to hear him speak and see how Cumberbatch’s voice matches. I’m sure we’ll find out in a subsequent trailer.
The rest of the film looks as it should…stunning. You can’t imagine it being filmed anywhere other than New Zealand – which it wasn’t, fortunately.
All-in-all an impressive first look. Do you agree?
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Directed by Peter Jackson, the film stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Luke Evans, Christopher Lee, Martin Freeman, Hugo Weaving, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood, Manu Bennett, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Aidan Turner, Andy Serkis, Billy Connolly, Stephen Fry, Ian Holm, Graham McTavish, Dean O’Gorman, James Nesbitt, Sylvester McCoy, Ken Stott, Conan Stevens, William Kircher, Peter Hambleton, Mikael Persbrandt, Adam Brown, Jed Brophy, Stephen Hunter, John Callen, Mark Hadlow, John Bell, and Jeffrey Thomas.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug opens 12 December.
