Peter Jackson's epic adventure into the Middle-earth will continue as Warner Bros. announced the release dates and the movie titles for the prequel to Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "The Hobbit" trilogy.
The movie is an adaption from J.R.R.Tolkien's novel by the same name. The director will be making it into a three part movie which was originally a two part film. This expansion was announced in July.
The first movie is titled, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," and opens in theatres on December 14, 2013
"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" is the second movie which releases to theatres on December 13, 2013.
The third and final film, "There and Back Again" will hit theatres a few months later on July 18, 2014.
Jackson's prequels will feature: Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey, Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, Andy Serkis as Gollum, Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, Orlando Bloom as Legolas, Christopher Lee as Saruman the White, and Hugo Weaving as Elrond.
The Huffington Post reported that these prequels will be released in "High Frame Rate 3-D, other 3-D formats, IMAX and 2-D."
"The Hobbit" series have been much anticipated by LOR fans.
"We wanted to have a shorter gap between the second and third films. Opening in July affords us not only the perfect summer tentpole, but fans will have less time to wait for the finale of this epic adventure," said Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution, Warner Bros.
"The Hobbit: There and Back Again will be an action spectacle and an emotional conclusion for this already much-anticipated trilogy. Opening in the summer will maximize playability for what promises to be an event film for fans the world over," said Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, president of international distribution to The Hollywood Reporter.
Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Bovens and Guillermo del Toro wrote the screenplay for the movie.
"The Hobbit" will have the Baggins band together with Gandalf and dwarves who go on a quest to find treasure that is guarded by a dragon. It also tells us about how the magic ring was obtained by Frodo, reported The Guardian Express.
