The cat was rather let out of the bag with the full titles of the two Hobbit movies a few months ago when New Line registered two monikers for the LotR prequels. However now they’ve been officially confirmed and the release dates set.
So if you missed them before, what will the films be called. Well, the first will be The Hobbit: A Unexpected Journey and will reach cinemas December 14, 2012, while the second is The Hobbit: There and Back Again, is slated for release the following year, on December 13, 2013. Incidentally, There And Back Again, is JRR Tolkien’s alternate name for The Hobbit, and the title of the account of the journey Bilbo Baggins eventually writes.
Filming is now underway on the movie, which is set in Middle-earth 60 years before The Lord of The Rings, and follows the journey of title character Bilbo, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug.
Incidentally, Peter Jackson has been taking questions and has now started answering them over at Facebook. The first is ‘Are we going to see the White Council attacking Dol Guldor?’, with Peter Jackson saying ‘I’m not going to say just what and when, but I will confirm that both the White Council and Dol Guldur will feature in the movies. And not just in one scene either. Just how to visualise it has been a challenge, but fortunately Alan Lee and John Howe went crazy with ideas, and it should look pretty cool.’
The White Council is a group of powerful Middle-earth folk who meet to keep the peace and deal with various problems that arise (normally involving Sauron).
Jackson will be answering 19 more questions, so make sure you keep an eye on the film’s Facebook page while you wait for the release of the first movie on December 14th, 2012. (Source: Variety)