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.
Warner indicates that technology is not the issue here, so perhaps they are getting cold feet based on the extremely mixed reactions the footage has so far received. This actually ends up being a very prudent move on the part of Warner Bros who really gain nothing by going all in with a new presentation type out of the block. If the 48FPS showings do well and the reception is strong you can expect the next two films to get a wider high frame rate release, and if it falters than the 48FPS versions exist in limited form for tech nerds and Middle Earth completest.
