For months now, everyone has been wondering how long Peter Jackson’s Hobbit films are going to be, especially since it was announced that it was becoming a trilogy. Today, thanks to Comic Book Movie, we have word from Jackson himself on the runtime of the first entry in the trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
Here’s what Jackson had to say on the matter:
It’s looking like it’s going to be about ten minutes shorter than Fellowship was. So it’s going to be officially our shortest Middle Earth yet. I mean, Fellowship was just under three hours and this is about 2 hours 40 minutes at the moment.
Key words: “at the moment.” Does this mean that this is not set in stone as of yet? He does still have a little under two months left to tinker with it before it opens, but considering the fact that he’s dealing with three films now, it shouldn’t be all that surprising that they could all end up a little shorter.
This should please those who thought that the original cuts of The Lord of the Rings were too long, though at the same time it could very well displease those who were hoping for more three-hour epics. I for one love long epics, but I also trust Jackson implicitly to give us just the length that he feels is right.
You also have to keep in mind that this is just for the theatrical release. We’ve already gotten word that there is going to be an extended edition, so those of you who are thinking that this is too short for such a grand epic need not fret for you will have the chance to see the longer version late next year.
It shouldn’t be too much longer before we have confirmation on the final runtime of the film, so be sure to check back with us for the latest news.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey finally hits theaters on December 14th.