We don’t know about you, but we’ve always thought J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit was missing something. Sure, it’s a hugely successful, classic book with amazing characters and visuals. But we still feel like something is missing. What is that something you ask? A love story.

Apparently, Peter Jackson thinks so too, at least according to the newly released trailer for part two of his The Hobbit big screen trilogy. Thank goodness as it gives Orlando Bloom and Lost alumni Evangiine Lilly something to do besides shooting orcs with arrows.

But wait, there’s more. We also get a glimpse of what we think is probably the more important character in this tale: Smaug himself.

Yep, there be dragons (well, one anyway) and he looks pretty cool. Still not convinced this had to be three movies but we are convinced that nobody does Middle Earth like Peter Jackson. So, benefit of the doubt extended.

Check out the trailer after the break. (and yes, we’re joking about the love story).

Epic franchises have been doing crossovers for years. It was only a matter of time before the team behind The Lord of the Rings movie franchise took notice of the success of other film blockbusters like Star Wars, Harry Potter and Indiana Jones and how well they all did when they met the LEGO world. Not only did the toys sell, but their video games were all certified hits. LEGO The Lord of the Rings promised to again do something never before done in a LEGO crossover.

The Long

Unlike LEGO Batman and its sequel which were original stories, LEGO The Lord of the Rings took the path of Star Wars and put the entire film trilogy and its most epic encounters into LEGO form. Unlike Star Wars though, LEGO The Lord of the Rings included actual voiceover taken directly from the film. That means the most iconic scenes, though given LEGO twists and humor in many cases, have the authentic audio from the movies. Hearing LEGO Gandalf utter, “You shall not pass” to the Balrog is unexpectedly still incredibly powerful even though, for all intensive purposes, it’s a toy saying it.

One aspect of LEGO games that has always stood out was the central hub location where players would go in and out of missions. Originally, this was a small location of only a few rooms that chapters could be explored by entering. This was the primary setup for LEGO Star Wars and LEGO Indiana Jones. More recently, LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes changed this format with an open world Gotham for players to traverse and go into story missions when they saw fit. Now, Traveler’s Tales needs to switch up for the format again for LEGO The Lord of the Rings.

While it made sense in LEGO Batman’s world for the caped crusader to be able to travel around Gotham at his whim, that just isn’t the case with the tighter narrative that needs to be told during The Lord of the Rings. Even in LEGO format, The Lord of the Rings needs to have a clear beginning and ending location that players can’t just skip to. As anyone who has watched, or especially read The Lord of the Rings, it isn’t the destination that mattered to the story as much as it was the journey that got the heroes there.

One of the most intimidating prospects for a game developer may be the chance to work on a franchise they grew up loving. There is so much pressure put on themselves to uphold the high standards they set because they don’t want to let down themselves, other fans or the creators of it. But it also gives great opportunity for talented teams to make something special that can stand alongside other creative works associated with that franchise. Traveler’s Tales is one of those teams that has shown both love and respect for everything from Star Wars to Harry Potter in the LEGO universe and are undertaking the formidable legacy of The Lord of the Rings in their next game.

When you look at LEGO The Lord of the Rings at first, what you may notice first is the world going on behind the characters. There is a blend of both picturesque landscape combined with scenics from the films created out of LEGO. Much like they did with LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, LEGO The Lord of the Rings will have a large open world format with side quests for players to take part in instead of just following the story of the game.

If you are on The Flickcast, you already know the story. A band of mismatched heroes takes an impossible journey to escort the smallest of men to the most dangerous of locales all to destroy a ring that could destroy them all. How do you improve on that ageless tale? Why, add LEGOs of course.

At Gamescom, WB Games revealed the latest trailer for LEGO The Lord of the Rings. Following in the tradition of LEGO Star Wars or LEGO Indiana Jones, LEGO The Lord of the Rings will follow the events of the movies while adding in the quirky LEGO humor. In the tradition of LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes, the game will also feature voice acting.

New to the LEGO brand though is having actual sound bites from the movie used in the game. While it hasn’t be revealed whether or not any new audio has been recorded for the game, it will be interesting to see how much Traveler’s Tales has fun with some of the most iconic scenes while using the current audio that so many of us have memorized at this point. The trailer below already gives a hint both at some of the epic scenes brought to life using LEGO as well as some of the lighthearted fun that the developers have had playing with some of the films’ memorable scenes.

Check out the full trailer after the break and keep it here for more on LEGO The Lord of the Rings set to come out this fall for Wii, Nintendo 3DS, PC, XBox 360 and PlayStation 3.

We told you before about the splitting of The Hobbit into three films instead of the previously announced two. We are still processing that bomb shell development, but Middle Earth news carries on.

Shortly after the announced extra split, Warner Brothers secured the domain names  for two potential new Hobbit titles, The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies. Of course the new third film will need a subtitle, but what is interesting is the concept that they might rename the second film as well.

As of now it stands that the second film will be subtitled There And Back Again, but that title makes much less sense for a second film of a trilogy. Based on the natural climactic points in the story it could make sense to rename the second film The Desolation of Smaug and give the last film The Battle of the Five Armies. No official announcement has been made, but expect a decision sooner rather than later.

Also in The Hobbit news, Warner Brothers has decided to back off on the 48FPS presentations for An Unexpected Journey. That isn’t to say that 48FPS will not be an option for you in December, it just means that version of the film will be out in only a limited capacity. The studio wants to test the water on the format before committing thousands of screens to such a revolutionary new presentation.

Wow, leading up to comic-con this concept was inconceivable. Take the already stretched tale of The Hobbit and transform it into a trilogy, to paraphrase Bilbo, it seemed like an idea that make the story feel like butter spread over too much bread.

Then the avalanche started to roll when Jackson himself alluded to the potential of a third film. We talked about the potential expanding of the story in the wake of the first rumors. Now, thanks to a posting on Jackson’s Facebook fan page, we have confirmation:

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.  It has been an unexpected journey indeed, and in the words of Professor Tolkien himself, “a tale that grew in the telling.”

Go visit Jackson’s page for the whole note to the fans, it goes a little deeper into the why of this decision.

So there you have it, The Hobbit is officially a trilogy. This is an interesting turn of events for one of the most anticipated films of this and next year.

We need some processing time to decide of this is wonderful or treacherous news. Stay glued to The Flickcast for a more in-depth reaction and any new news regarding the new, third, Hobbit film.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the greater trilogies in film history. Famously there is a story about Jackson originally pitching the adaptation as two movies. The eventual producer of the films heard the pitch and asked if there were three books why not make three films.

Well that was one of the first sparks that lead to Middle Earth arriving on cinema screens in epic and beautiful detail. Now it seems like that original logic is being turned on its head as The Hollywood Reporter thinks rumor of a third Hobbit film is quite firm:

Warner Bros., Jackson, producer Fran Walsh and writer-producer Philippa Boyens began exploring the logistics of what it would take to make another movie. Those talks are said to have accelerated in recent days, with the studio on board if the right financial arrangements can be achieved. That includes securing new actor deals for the expansive cast as well as shoring up certain rights associated with the property.

Of course certain novels benefit from being told over nine hours instead of three or even six, but not necessarily The Hobbit. Tolkien’s first middle earth book is smaller and simpler in size and scope from each part of the Lord of the Rings series, so some serious padding needs to take place.

Stay glued to The Flickcast, as any ultimate decision that comes down about this will have to happen pretty soon.

One of the biggest presentations this year at Comic-Con was The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey panel in Hall H. Peter Jackson and company showed off twelve minutes of new footage and a brand new production vlog.

While it is highly unlikely we will ever see the footage in its comic-con form, we have been graced with the production vlog. In fact it has even been enhanced to give us a peek at Peter Jackson’s experience at the convention itself.

Typically these vlogs do a wonderful job of making you feel apart of the larger whole that is The Hobbit production, but the additional Comic-Con aspects actually allow fans everywhere to feel, at least in a small way, like they partook in The Hobbit Comic-Con experience.

Aside from all the con goodness on the front end, the main vlog itself is also one of the better yet released. It detailed the final days of shooting, and gave us our first look at some key elements.

You can check out the full new vlog after the jump, and I am sure no one needs reminding that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hits theaters this December 14th.

Big franchises have a unique set of problems. Shepherds of large, established franchises have to worry about their brand and how it is exposed to the world.

One of the biggest global franchises is The Lord of the Rings, or more specifically the whole of Middle-Earth. It is such a huge franchise there is an entire division of The Saul Zaentz Company set up devoted to Middle-Earth. The division, Middle-Earth Enterprises, is in charge of the license, and it is up to them to maintain it’s integrity.

That’s all well and good, but some times the desire to protect the franchise ends up hurting it. One such instance is the recent attempt by Middle-Earth Enterprises to shut down a popular pub in Southampton, England called The Hobbit.

This Tolkien themed bar is a long established pub that was set up as an homage to the works of Tolkien. The intention was to bring positive new attention to the work in it’s own small way. The folks over at The Saul Zaentz Company have decided enough is enough and wants the bar to stop using the likenesses or pay up.