Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings movie series and the coming movies series base don Tolkien’s The Hobbit, has confirmed that he will be breaking his two films, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and The Hobbit: There and Back Again, into three films.

“We know how much of the story of Bilbo Baggins, the Wizard Gandalf, the Dwarves of Erebor, the rise of the Necromancer, and the Battle of Dol Guldur will remain untold if we do not take this chance,” Jackson wrote on his Facebook page.  “So, without further ado and on behalf of New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Wingnut Films, and the entire cast and crew of The Hobbit films, I’d like to announce that two films will become three.”

The Desolation of Smaug and Riddles in the Dark, indicating one of the second two films may take on this subtitle.

Fansite TheOneRing.net suggested a third possible subtitle, The Battle of Five Armies may be in consideration.

My guess?  Maybe they’ll follow the Harry Potter final film strategy and simply have The Hobbit: There and Back Again Part One, and The Hobbit: There and Back Again Part Two.  Maybe not if the third film delves into Tolkien stories outside The Hobbit tale.

So here are the release dates for the now three Hobbit films:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D theaters on December 14th, 2012.

The Hobbit: There and Back Again (or revised title) opens in theaters December 13th, 2013.

The Hobbit (unnamed) hits theaters in Summer 2014.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com