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THE HOBBIT NEWS

Peter Jackson Confirms We're Getting a Third 'Hobbit' Movie in 2014

by Alex Billington
July 30, 2012
Source: Facebook

Well it looks like it couldn't be more official - it's happening. They're making three Hobbit movies. We're going to see Peter Jackson's The Hobbit trilogy, whether you like it or not. After a few weeks of rumors and speculation originating from the halls of the San Diego Comic-Con, Jackson himself has confirmed that they're officially making three. "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," he said on his Facebook. More info from PJ on this below!

Here's more of the official quote/announcement as posted on the Peter Jackson Facebook page today:

"It is only at the end of a shoot that you finally get the chance to sit down and have a look at the film you have made. Recently Fran, Phil and I did just this when we watched for the first time an early cut of the first movie - and a large chunk of the second. We were really pleased with the way the story was coming together, in particular, the strength of the characters and the cast who have brought them to life. All of which gave rise to a simple question: do we take this chance to tell more of the tale? And the answer from our perspective as the filmmakers, and as fans, was an unreserved 'yes.'"

"We know how much of the story of Bilbo Baggins, the Wizard Gandalf, the Dwarves of Erebor, the rise of the Necromancer, and the Battle of Dol Guldur will remain untold if we do not take this chance. The richness of the story of The Hobbit, as well as some of the related material in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, allows us to tell the full story of the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and the part he played in the sometimes dangerous, but at all times exciting, history of Middle-earth."

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

The current schedule is now: Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in theaters on December 14th, 2012 later this year; The Hobbit: There and Back Again in theaters on December 13th, 2013; and finally, The Hobbit: Part 3 (which doesn't have a title yet) in theaters summer 2014. The new release has been confirmed by Variety's Josh Dickey, who says "Hobbit 3 will come in Summer 2014, unlike first 2 films. No specific date affixed yet." I'm glad to hear that Jackson and his entire cast and crew are ready to return to Middle Earth again, likely next summer to shoot more. It will definitely be an exciting, thrilling and more complete adventure I just hope Tolkien's Hobbit story doesn't feel too stretched.

Update: Our friends at SlashFilm have pointed out an interesting post on Fusible that identifies a couple of potential titles that Warner Bros is considering for the third movie. They've found these based on domain name registrations by a place called MarkMonitor. A few titles that might follow The Hobbit include: The Desolation of Smaug and Riddles in the Dark. We'll have to wait to find out what they end up using.

Filed under Hobbit, Hype, Movie News

From around the web:

mooreworthy

The latter trilogies were worth it, so hopefully it will be worth the wait.
Kelton

Wow. Every stinking detail in the books will be able to be covered now. No excuses not to. I'm very happy about that. It will cost more to go see three different films, and a longer wait. But it sounds like it'll be worth it.
Isildur_of_Numenor

More Middle Earth? Fine by me. It still is odd though, with LOTR being three books and three films and The Hobbit one book and three films. Oh well... ain't complaining, just saying...
- Maverick Pete
  
  i totally agree. seems like if they're including other stuff, that it should be titled differently. instead of The Hobbit: so and so, maybe something like The Legends of Middle-Earth, or even (gasp!) The Lord of the Rings: so and so. i just hope Jackson knows what he's doing.
  - happy camper
    
    and there better not be any "extended version" on bluray cause now there is no reason not to included everything that was filmed.
    - http://www.quanahblogs.com/ Quanah
      
      Extended editions will include troll bathroom scenes and Bilbo sleeping for a solid 8 hours.
      - LosZombies
        
        Or the entire uncut Entmoot.
      - Isildur_of_Numenor
        
        Haha!
  - Isildur_of_Numenor
    
    I hope that too, this is kind of a stretch. But he's the perfect director to pull this off so I'm confident.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7YGEVuJ4mM Carpola

Crazy, could have been done in 90 minutes, it's not even that good a story. I'm not sure if there's even a helicopter crash in it. Yoking, obviously it'll be the bingo wings.
Zeus

Great news!
DAVIDPD

^0^*
Xerxexx

Um...sounds good.
- http://www.quanahblogs.com/ Quanah
  
  Give me your name, horse-master, and I shall give you mine.
  - LosZombies
    
    I would cut off your head, Master Dwarf, if it were but a little higher off the ground.
xtheory

Where there's a will (cough, lots and lots of money, cough), there's a way.
- http://www.facebook.com/thehopedkid Have Hope
  
  MONEY!
  - LosZombies
    
    WHERE!? :O
jackofseveraltrades

Im confused, is the Hobbit being told in 3 movies now? Or is the third movie taken from the Appendices, which if I recall were not in the Hobbit but in the LOTR books? Honestly it feels like a cash grab, I loved the books but the Hobbit doesn't need 3 movies to tell the story (if that's what they're doing), and the Appendices weren't really anything amazing.. Just my two cents.
- LosZombies
  
  They're most likely gonna be a mixture of the two. The Appendices, like you said, aren't all that exciting. True. In fact, they read just like a history book. But they do give a TON of detail on events that happen DURING The Hobbit, and the years leading to Fellowship. For example: The White Council over throwing the Necromancer, Gandalf meeting Thorin in Bree, Battle of Anunzibar with Dain Ironfoot, and the Balin's failed attempt to retake Moria. So with that being said, most of those events, Im sure, would look AWESOME on screen if theyre woven in carefully. Thus stretching out the series. I believe in PJ.
germss

This is just strange to me. So will the Hobbit story be finished with the second film? That's the way it was written, no? Is the third movie just a two hour epilogue? Unless they planned this from the very beginning, I don't see how it will work.
- JohnIGottschalk
  
  I have a feeling they're just going to take more time for what they were going to make the 2nd movie, and take some of what they shot for that for the 2nd and 3rd movies.
  - Richie G
    
    I can imagine the new footage won't all be at the end of the story, it'll be peppered throughout, but it could still effect the flow of the story. Each film needs a beginning, middle and end, and if reviews prove they rely too much on eachother because the flow is F'd, it might be just as well to watch them when they're all out. A mentality I wish more people shared (for cinema's sake)
DustyOR

Jackson is obsessed with them..................too bad he did not do the bridge film which I was hoping for. I did not care for them, in fact they almost put me into a coma until Aragorn arrived in FOTR, and don't care about seeing any of the THREE films dedicated to them.............zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
xtheory

I wonder if all the actor contracts need to be re-negotiated and re-worked because of the Three/Four Musketeer precedent.
Steven

Bilbo's diary is split into three parts, 'My Unexpected Journey' and 'There and Back Again'. are the first two. With 'And What Happened After' as the third. My money is on that third being the title of the third movie..
- LosZombies
  
  As much as I love the series, even I have to admit the title for the third one is awful lol
  - Steven
    
    True - but it might work if it truly is a bridge between the Hobbit and LotR.
SuicidalOptimist

But...it's just a 200 page childrens book! It really isn't elaborate and extensive enough to get milked and dragged out like this. Well, I guess now they can incorporate absolutely every little detail from the book in the movie. I don't really understand how this will work without fatiguing the audience in the process. It's just weird considering how they approached LOTR. Well, at least it'll look beautiful. I can't wait for the 60 movies they'll shoot to cover the Silmarillion.
- http://www.quanahblogs.com/ Quanah
  
  I wonder if there's some attempt at a bridge film...
jah p

I don't like this at all..this just seems like a WB money grab..how are they gonna stretch out the story of the Hobbit for three films?The worst thing is that we have to wait until the 3rd movie to see Smaug, and that sucks! I don't understand why WB would wanna put the 3rd movie during the summer of 2014 against it's own big budget Godzilla movie?
- LosZombies
  
  Theres more than enough material in the Appendices for a third hobbit film. Theres actually quite alot that happens during the story that wasnt mention in the first place
hi hello

Awesome news.
Chris Batty

Now it's getting silly.
happy camper

Unless i am totally captivated by the first, i will wait for the 2nd on bluray then back to the theater for the 3rd.
rocky728

I trust Peter Jackson. If it was the studio pushing for 3rd film I would be skeptical but it was PJ that apparently wanted the 3rd film. LOTR is a superior work by miles but PJ is using notes and material from Tolkien that aren't in the books so I remain very optimistic.
http://www.quanahblogs.com/ Quanah

I'm still trying to figure out how to buy property in Rohan, so until then I'll take more Middle Earth movies any day. Where's my Glenlivet?
LosZombies

I really like "The Desolation of Smaug", although that probably means we wouldnt see Smaug until the 3rd one. Either way Im super fucking stoked!!!
Gabriel

The Hobbit: An Unexpectedly Longer Journey
frank

They should just reboot harry potter instead...