New Picture From The Hobbit

Now that Sherlock's finished, you may be wondering where your next hit of Martin Freeman will be coming from. But fear not, Freeman addicts! The Hero Complex has a new picture from The Hobbit online, giving you something to keep those withdrawal symptoms at bay.

This one shows Bilbo with his sword, Sting. Technically, it's really a long knife, made by elves in Gondolin along with Gandalf's sword, Glamdring, and Thorin's sword, Orcrist.

There follow, we suppose, minor spoilers for those who haven't read the book and weren't paying attention during the previous trilogy. Bilbo acquired this blade from the troll hoard that he, Gandalf and company liberate in this story, although you may have encountered the relevant trolls in the extended edition of The Lord Of The Rings**: The Fellowship Of The Ring**.

This looks to be a picture from the scene in which Bilbo names his sword, deep in Mirkwood following an encounter with some arachnid beasties that bear a distant family connection to Rings's Shelob. You can see traces of spider-web all over, and the sword isn't glowing, which suggests there aren't any orcs around. Possible spoilers end.

Yes, it's the same blade that Frodo used throughout The Lord Of The Rings, fact fans. The other cool thing about this image is that it shows a more adventuresome side of Bilbo, who often appears a bit more bumbling than his world-saving young cousin.

brightcove.createExperiences();The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hits on December 14 this year, with There And Back Again following on December 13, 2013. Ha! And they say December 13 is unlucky!