For a little over half a year, we’ve been treated to some brilliant things from Peter Jackson’s return to Middle-earth in bringing Tolkien’s The Hobbit to life, all of which you can catch up on right here. Just before Christmas, we were given an excellent new look at the film when the first trailer hit the web, and it was pretty brilliant. Fans of the original The Lord of the Rings will not be disappointed.
We’ve now got a great new image from the film to share with you, courtesy of Hero Complex via Collider, and it shows Martin Freeman as the young Bilbo Baggins looking pretty rough around the edges and somewhat world-weary, with one hand clasped around his sword, Sting.
As you’re no doubt already aware, The Hobbit will be released in two parts and in 3D, first with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and then The Hobbit: There And Back Again. The cast that Jackson has lined up is rather fantastic too, with many familiar faces as well as plenty of new ones joining the cast. Alongside Freeman, we can look forward to seeing Andy Serkis, Stephen Fry, Hugo Weaving, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellen, Ian Holm, Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, and Christopher Lee.
“The Hobbit follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.
Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever … Gollum.
Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.”
(*Potential plot spoiler coming up; this is your warning!*) It’s been a long time since I read The Hobbit, so alas I can’t quite place the new image in the plot of the film myself. Freeman looks rather cobwebby though, so with a bit of help from Wikipedia…
“Great Spiders:
The Hobbit describes a colony of sapient and over-sized spiders in the northern parts of Mirkwood at the end of the Third Age. The Elves of Thranduil’s realm tried unsuccessfully to exterminate them. During the events of the book, Thorin’s company was captured by spiders and enmeshed in webs; however, Bilbo Baggins managed to free them with the aid of his sword Sting and his magic ring.”
That sounds about right to me. Essentially, expect this scene to be pretty awesome. (Small aside: I really like Richard Armitage for the role of Thorin. I think he’s going to be great in it.)
An Unexpected Journey will be with us in just under a year on 14th December, followed a year later by There And Back Again on 13th December, 2013. Without further ado, here’s the great new image of Freeman as Bilbo. As usual, click to enlarge and take in all the tiny details.
