The Hobbit 3 Movie Release and Other News: Jackson Expanding J.R.R. Tolkiens Middle-Earth Mythology
The Hobbit 3 release date is December 17, 2014, for US theaters. This third and final installment in the three-part movie adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" saga was directed by Peter Jackson based on a screenplay he co-wrote with Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Guillermo del Torre. The Hobbit 3 soundtrack and music was composed and produced by Howard Shore who also did the scoring for the previous Hobbit films as well as those for The Lord of the Rings movies. The official The Hobbit 3 (The Battle of Five Armies) trailer, which was first shown during the San Diego Comic-Con on July 26, can still be accessed at the Hobbit 3 website and the Hobbit 3 wiki fansite.
The Hobbit 3 (The Battle of Five Armies) cast is huge and includes includes Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Richard Armitage as Thorin, Ken Stott as Balin, Graham McTavish as Dwalin, William Kircher as Bifur, James Nesbitt as Bofur, Stephen Hunter as Bombu, Dean O'Gorman as Fili, Aidan Turner as Kili, John Callen as Oin, Peter Hambleton as Gloin, Jed Brophy as Nori, Mark Hadlow as Dori, Adam Brown as Ori, along with Billy Connolly as Dain II, Orlando Bloom as Legolas, Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel, Lee Pace as Thranduil, Hugo Weaving as Elrond, Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, Christopher Lee as Saruman, Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug/Sauron, Mikael Persbrandt as Beorn, Sylvester McCoy as Radagast, Luke Evans as Bard, Stephen Fry as the Laketown Master, Ryan Gage as Alfrid, John Bell as Bain, Peggy Nesbitt as Sigrid, Mary Nesbitt as Tilda, Manu Bennett as Azog, Lawrence Makoare as Bolg, Mark Mitchinson as Braga, Jeff Slaven as Laketowner, and Andy Serkis as Gollum, plus literally five armies of several hundred extras. It is even rumored that Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins will be making an appearance towards the film's ending to establish the connection between the Hobbit 3 story and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The Hobbit 3 plot will take off from where Hobbit 2 (The Desolation of Smaug) left. It will thus begin with Smaug's attack on Lake-town, continue with Smaug's demise at the hands of Bard, move on to "The Battle of Dol Guldur" and "The Battle of Five Armies," as depicted in the Tolkien book, and end with Bilbo's journey back home. In the book, Thorin will succumb to his battle wounds and die. However, there is a possibility that the movie Hobbit 3 story line will be different. It is known that Peter Jackson made some deviations from the Tolkien books book in both The Lord of the Rings and the earlier Hobbit films. Will he conclude Hobbit 3 in a more positive note and let Thorin survive? Many fans are hoping so. Jackson did told Total Film that "We're able to expand what was there, bring in a little bit extra to the mythology and open it up a bit."
