Advertisement

Bilbo at war in 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies'

A new teaser trailer for the final episode in Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" trilogy was officially unveiled on July 28, two days after it was screened at San Diego's Comic-Con.

At the end of the previous movie, "The Desolation of Smaug," the men living near the Lonely Mountain seem doomed to a terrible fate. Driven from his lair in the mountain by Bilbo the hobbit (Martin Freeman) and the dwarves, Smaug the dragon (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) decides to take out his rage upon the inhabitants of Lake-town.

Things hardly look any brighter for the elves and the dwarves, who must now battle an army of goblins and orcs led by the Necromancer (also played by Cumberbatch).

The titular "Battle of the Five Armies" refers to the five groups involved: men, dwarves, elves, goblins and orcs. While an alliance between the first three groups seems inevitable if there is any hope of defeating the invading enemy, the dwarf Thorin (Richard Armitage) is showing a darker side than ever before, suggesting that any union will be an uneasy one.

The new teaser trailer is scored by the same song Pippin sings in the final movie in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Hardly a coincidence, this reference to "The Return of the King" echoes a thematic parallel between the two films, both of which deal with the difficulty of an alliance between the different clans.

"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" will arrive in US theaters on December 17.

Watch the new teaser trailer: youtu.be/rgNNb8bm_b8