It's only a little over two weeks now until The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug lands on screens, but there's still time for a few new images from the film. And as it turns out, we have some rather nice ones, showing key characters and locations. Take a closer look...
The first shows, of course, Luke Evans' Bard the Bowman in his home of Lake-town. Then there's auld muckers Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and Radagast (Sylvester McCoy) in what looks like Dol Guldur, the stronghold of the Necromancer. After that we have Richard Armitage's Thorin and his team in barrels, escaping downriver from imprisonment by means that Health & Safety would not approve. And finally, Martin Freeman's Bilbo dangles some keys - in a scene that we're guessing precedes the barrel-bound escape attempt.
The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug also stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lily, Orlando Bloom, Lee Pace, Aidan Turner and Stephen Fry. Peter Jackson's directing, obviously, and it hits cinemas on December 13. You can still get hold of Empire**'s **Hobbit **coverage in our iPad edition here.