The Hobbit 2: The Desolation of Smaug Trailer - Beware of Plot Twists

The strategy for the new The Hobbit 2: The Desolation of Smaug trailer seems pretty simple: how many instantly recognisable things can be put in this? Put ‘em all in. But let’s be honest, as far as marketing tricks go, that one is pretty effective. If you’re a LotR or Hobbit fan to any degree, you’re probably jumping up and down waiting to see this in a theatre – on the inside at least. So, the bit that everyone was concerned about was, with a short book like The Hobbit, how on earth could Peter Jackson and co. manage to fill three (fairly long) films?

But Jackson seems to be managing alright – particularly since this is the part in which we finally get to see the main event – the dragon. And not just any dragon, but Smaug. Smaug the Terrible, Destroyer of the Dale, Captor of the Lonely Mountain... you get the gist. Smaug is a big deal. Ok, so we don’t actually get to see him in the trailer, but the rest of the CGI looks solid so we can only hope that the graphics team did Smaug the Magnificent (we can keep listing aliases forever) justice.

On top of all that we get to see Elijah Wood back as Frodo Baggins (hesitant applause), Cate Blanchett back as Galladriel (warm welcome) and, apparently, Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice of Smaug himself – and this is where the fangirls, and some fanboys no doubt – burst out in ear-shattering applause. Excellent casting choice, that one. Oh, and of course, we get Martin Freeman reprising the role of Bilbo Baggins. So both Holmes and Watson this time. Sorry, that was a different fandom.

Whatever happens in this film, and there is still every chance that it will alienate book fans, it’s obvious that there will be enough stuff to fill the two or three hours of Desolation without boring the Bagginses out of movie-goers. We’re looking at you, half hour of Bilbo Baggins walking around his hobbit hole in the first movie.

Martin Freeman, Sherlock Filming
Three cheers for Bilbo Baggins!