New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures and MGM have announced the titles and release dates for Peter Jackson’s two-film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. The first film will be titled The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and will be released on December 14, 2012. The second film, titled The Hobbit: There and Back Again, will be released the following year, on December 13, 2013.
The Hobbit is set in Middle-earth 60 years before Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and follows Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Peter Jackson will direct both film parts consecutively in digital 3D. The screenplays for the films are by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson.
Most of the needed cast from the LOTR Trilogy is returning; Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf the Grey, Martin Freeman will take on the role of Bilbo Baggins, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel; Orlando Bloom as Legolas; Ian Holm as the elder Bilbo; Christopher Lee as Saruman; Hugo Weaving as Elrond; Elijah Wood as Frodo; and Andy Serkis as Gollum.
Tags: Andy Serkis, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood, Hugo Weaving, Ian Holm, Ian McKellen, Lord of the Rings, Martin Freeman, Orlando Bloom, peter jackson, the hobbit
