“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” unveils new trailer (video)

 October 2, 2013 - 10:44 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - J. R. R. Tolkien fans finally get a glimpse of Bilbo Baggins facing off against the dragon Smaug in a new trailer for “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”, LA Times Hero Complex said.

The trailer, which runs 2½ minutes, offers the first extensive look at Benedict Cumberbatch’s motion-capture performance as Smaug, whose attack on and occupation of the dwarf kingdom of Erebor is the catalyst for the story in Peter Jackson’s planned “Hobbit” trilogy.

“Truly, the tales and songs fall utterly short of your enormity, oh Smaug the stupendous,” Martin Freeman’s Bilbo says in a quivering voice after sneaking into the dragon’s treasure-filled lair. Smaug responds later in the trailer.

“Thief, where are you?” Cumberbatch’s distinctive low voice rumbles before the dragon breathes a giant fireball. “Come now. Don’t be shy. Step into the light.”

“The Desolation of Smaug,” which hits theaters Dec. 13, is part two in the series and picks up where last year’s box-office hit “An Unexpected Journey” left off, after hobbit Bilbo, wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and the dwarfs escape from a band of bloodthirsty orcs.

In the action-packed trailer, the Elvenking King Thranduil (Lee Pace) offers dwarf king Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and his company aid in reclaiming his kingdom, though the dwarfs aren’t sure whether he can be trusted.

The trailer also spotlights fan-favorite elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom), a “Lord of the Rings” alumnus, and hints at a possible relationship between Legolas and Tauriel, an elf woman created for the film and played by Evangeline Lilly.

“Legolas has grown very fond of you,” an unseen voice tells Tauriel. “Do not give him hope where there is none.”

The trailer also features several new characters, among them Bard the Bowman (Luke Evans), a Laketown human who has a key role to play in the tale.

“You have no right to enter that mountain,” Bard warns .

“I have the only right,” Thorin responds.

The trailer hints at more of the controversial storyline leading to the events of “The Lord of the Rings” — a plot not explicit in Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” but rather culled from his other writings of Middle-earth.

“We have been blind, and in our blindness, our enemy has returned,” says Ian McKellen’s gray wizard Gandalf as images of a dark army and the Eye of Sauron flash across the screen.

Like its predecessor, “The Desolation of Smaug” was shot in 3-D at 48 frames per second and will be released in 2-D, High Frame Rate 3-D, other 3-D formats and IMAX.

The third and final film in the trilogy, ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again,” is slated for a December 2014 release.