The Hobbit Second And Third Film Titles Announced

The adventure begins this Winter- but just what will it become...?

Warner Brothers Pictures have today confirmed the titles and release dates for all three entries of the recently expanded film adaptation of The Hobbit. This storyline focuses on the years preceding The Lord Of The Rings, as a young Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) is enlisted by the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) to aid a group of Dwarves in their quest to defeat the dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch), meeting goblins, trolls and the mysterious Gollum (Andy Serkis) along the way.

We already knew that the first instalment of the trilogy was to be called An Unexpected Journey, and there’s been no change there- we will still see that title adorn the first part underneath the main logo this Winter. The changes start in the second and final flicks, though: while the two-parter’s finale was originally meant to be named There And Back Again, due to the narrative’s expansion the titles have now been shifted around a bit. Now, the second film will be named The Desolation Of Smaug and the finale will be called There And Back Again. What does this tell us about the way the story will be split over three films? Well, we know An Unexpected Journey will take us through the first nine or ten chapters, just beyond the gang’s escape from a fortress via barrels on a river.

After that, Desolation is likely to take us to the point of Smaug’s eventual demise, a further seven chapters in. This would imply that There And Back would cover the novel’s final three chapters, but don’t be surprised if there’s plenty more story than the original book’s in the latter two instalments. We’ll provide you with all the updates on The Hobbit as they come, including the new trailer for An Unexpected Journey likely to hit soon. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey arrives on December 12^th, The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug on December 13^th, 2013 and The Hobbit: There And Back Again on July 14^th, 2014.