Hot on the trails of the amazing teaser for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, we have a featurette that acts as a kind of tour of Middle Earth (i.e. New Zealand). As most fans know, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy was shot all about the beautiful country, setting the perfect atmosphere for the beloved films, so it came as no surprise that Peter Jackson and his crew decided to film The Hobbit Trilogy there as well.
The featurette takes us to several different spots including Matamata, where Hobbiton was built not once, but twice, and multiple mountains and hills where various actions occur. In case you didn’t notice in the films, the landscapes are simply stunning, so much so that you can understand when one of the actors states how a friend of theirs believed a set photo to be photoshopped. It’s just that breathtaking.
I, for one, cannot wait to continue the journey this December. The first film, while it wasn’t without a few flaws, was an amazing experience. Even as one of millions who have read the book, there were still surprises to be had thanks to Jackson and his co-writers’ decision to include additional material. All this while pleasing Tolkien purists with a faithful adaptation of the novel.
The teaser would seem to indicate a continuation of this pattern, showing us classic scenes from the book (the dwarves in the barrels, Bilbo’s encounter with Smaug, etc.), while also showing us a bit of the additional material (Legolas’ appearance, the continued storyline of Radagast the Brown). If it’s mixed together as well as it was in the first film, then it looks like we’re in for another grand success.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, starring Martin Freeman, Sir Ian McKellen, and Richard Armitage, opens in theaters on December 13th, 2013.
Check out the featurette below and let us know what you think in the comments!
(Source: Comingsoon.net)
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