If you’ve read our big breakdown of the various stories emerging from Comic-Con, you probably know that Peter Jackson showed up with a teaser trailer for The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies, the final chunk of his latest big Tolkien trilogy. While not everything shown at Hall H is here, the trailer has at least arrived via the sorcery of the Interwebs.
As the title suggests, there’s a massive great scrap in the offing, especially given that the dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch) finished off the second film with a promise to go all scorched earth on Lake-town.
And** Five Armies** picks up the story quickly, showing us the conflict everyone has been waiting for since Jackson announced his intention to turn The Hobbit into three films. If you don’t already know, the title refers to goblins and wargs (one army, supported by scary bats) facing off against dwarves, elves, men and giant eagles (four smaller armies) in a quest to gain control of Erebor (the Lonely Mountain) and Smaug's treasures within. One change this time should see the orcs being led by the still-very-much on-the-loose Necromancer (also Cumberbatch), making them even more formidable.
The film will hit cinemas on December 12, starring Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom, Lee Pace, Evangeline Lilly, Aidan Turner, James Nesbitt and a cast of thousands more, both real and digital.
For much, more more on Peter Jackson's final Tolkienstalment, The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies, head over to Empire's exclusive cover reveal, replete with details of the final part of the epic saga. The September issue will be on all good and some evil newsstands from July 31.