‘Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug’ trailer shows dragon, Orlando Bloom

‘Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug’ trailer shows dragon, Orlando Bloom

The first trailer for “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” offers fans a glimpse of the gold-hording dragon Smaug, the return of fan-favorite elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and a peek at the horrors ahead in the Mirkwood forest. “The Desolation of Smaug,” which hits theaters Dec. 13, is part two in the series, following last year’s box office hit “An Unexpected Journey.” “Desolation” picks up where the first film left off, after hobbit Bilbo, wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and the dwarfs escape from a band of bloodthirsty orcs. In the two-minute trailer, Smaug (played by “Star Trek Into Darkness” actor Benedict Cumberbatch through performance-capture technology) turns a fiery eye on Bilbo (Martin Freeman), who has sneaked into the enormous dragon’s lair. The dragon’s attack on and occupation of the dwarf kingdom of Erebor is the catalyst for the story in Peter Jackson’s planned “Hobbit” trilogy, based on the book by J. R. R. Tolkien. The trailer begins with a voice-over by Lee Pace’s Elvenking Thranduil, seen in flashbacks in the first film. “Where does your journey end?” he says. “You seek that which would bestow upon you the right to rule. The quest to reclaim a homeland and slay a dragon.”What follows is an action-packed trailer, complete with combat with the pale orc Azog, the barrel escape scene from the book, a giant spider creeping up on Bilbo, and a run-in with a beast that could be Beorn, the skinchanger bear-man to be played by Mikael Persbrandt. At one point, dwarf king Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and his men come face to face with Legolas and his bow and arrow. “Do not think I won’t kill you, dwarf,” the blond elf, played by Orlando Bloom, warns Thorin. Legolas was a favorite in Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy a decade ago, but he did not appear in last year’s film. Also new to the second “Hobbit” installment is Tauriel, an elf woman created for the film and played by Evangeline Lilly. “When did we allow evil to become stronger than us?” the warrior says as the trailer shows her on horseback, notching an arrow in her bow. Later in the trailer, she tries to persuade Legolas to join the fray, telling him, “It is our fight.” Luke Evans also makes his debut as Bard the Bowman, a Laketown human who has a key role to play in the tale. Other returning characters include Gandalf, fellow wizard Radagast (Sylvester McCoy), and Thorin and his company of dwarfs. 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. Watch the trailer and check out stills from the film in the gallery above.



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