The Hobbit is now a trilogy, we all know that now and most of us have made our peace with that very surprising news. Where there were two films now there are three, and one of the more important and simple things a film needs when it is announced is a title and a release date. Few films are brazen enough to release with out a title and a release date, and it seems the third Hobbit will not be as well.
The third film will now be known as The Hobbit: There and Back Again, sharp readers will no doubt recognize that title as the one for the second Hobbit film. Seeing as how that title has some sense of finality to it, they shipped it over to the third film which means the second film will now need a new moniker, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smuag.
This new title was expected, but it does seem to confirm how Peter Jackson and company are splitting the known portion of the narrative. The second film will likely climax with the confrontation with the dragon Smaug and the third film will be the epic Battle of the Five Armies. It was always considered tricky how they would do both justice in one film, so there is a small since relief knowing that both rather large events will have time to breathe on-screen.
As for the release date, the third and final(?) Hobbit film will buck all trends and reason and release July 18th 2014. This allows a Peter Jackson middle earth film to test the Summer blockbuster waters for the first time ever.
Stay tuned to The Flickcast for any more Hobbit based news bits as the first film gets closer and closer.
