The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Information

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is an upcoming 2013 epic fantasy adventure film co-written, produced and directed by Peter Jackson. It is the second installment of a three-part film series based on J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel The Hobbit, beginning with An Unexpected Journey (2012) and set to conclude with There and Back Again (2014). The three films together act as prequels to Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

The storyline continues the events of An Unexpected Journey, in which the hobbit Bilbo Baggins travels with the wizard Gandalf and a company of thirteen dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield into the Kingdom of Erebor, taking them through Mirkwood, Esgaroth, and Dale to the epic combat with the dragon Smaug. The film stars Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Benedict Cumberbatch, Lee Pace, Hugo Weaving, Sylvester McCoy, Luke Evans, Orlando Bloom, and Evangeline Lilly.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is scheduled to premiere in November 2013 and will be released internationally from 11 December 2013. Like its predecessor, the film used a shooting and projection frame rate of 48 frames per second. The new projection rate was advertised as "High Frame Rate" to the general public.

Plot

The film continues the adventure of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins as he journeys with the wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield, on an epic quest to reclaim the lost dwarf kingdom of Erebor, from Smaug the dragon.

Cast

Some of the film's cast and their respective characters include:

• Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins: The main character of the film. He was selected by Gandalf and the Thorin's Company to travel to the Lonely Mountain.
• Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey: A Wizard that selects Bilbo Baggins to help the dwarves to go to the Lonely Mountain. Also is a member of the White Council.
• Cate Blanchett as Galadriel: An Elf, the ruler of Lothlórien and a member of the White Council. The character returns from all the other movies of Peter Jackson's middle-earth film series. Galadriel does not appear in the novel, but she appears in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.
• Hugo Weaving as Elrond: A Half-elven, the ruler of Rivendell and a member of the White Council.
• Christopher Lee as Saruman the White: A Wizard, the ruler of Isengard and the leader of the White Council. Like Galadriel, this character does not appear in the novel, but he appears in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.
• Sylvester McCoy as Radagast the Brown: A Wizard and a member of the White Council. Radagast is mentioned by Gandalf in the novel, but does not make an appearance; he appears in The Lord of the Rings.
• Mikael Persbrandt as Beorn: A skin-changer; a man who can assume the appearance of a great black bear. In the novel, he lives with his animal retinue (horses, dogs, and cows, among others) in a wooden house between the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood. Beorn receives Gandalf, Bilbo, and the 13 Dwarves and aids them in their quest to reclaim the Dwarves' kingdom beneath Erebor, the Lonely Mountain. He is convinced of their trustworthiness after confirming their tale of encountering the Goblins of the Misty Mountains and Gandalf's slaying of their leader, the Great Goblin. On 3 December 2010, Swedish newspaper Nöjesbladet announced that Persbrandt had been cast in an unspecified role. He was confirmed as Beorn on 7 December 2010. Jackson was quoted as saying, "The role of Beorn is an iconic one and Mikael was our first choice for the part. Since seeing him read for the role we can't imagine anyone else playing this character."
• Lee Pace as Thranduil: Referred to in the novel as "The Elvenking", he is the ruler of the realm of the northern part of Mirkwood. He is also the father of Legolas. In the novel, the Dwarves are captured by Thranduil's guards and locked in his dungeons when they refuse to divulge their intentions. In the early stages of production, the role had been linked to actor Doug Jones, but on 29 April 2011, Jackson reported on Facebook that the role had gone to Pace. On his casting, Jackson said, "Casting these Tolkien stories is very difficult, especially the Elven characters and Lee has always been our first choice for Thranduil. He's going to be great. We loved his performance in a movie called The Fall a few years ago and have been hoping to work with him since. When we were first discussing who would be right for Thranduil, Lee came into mind almost immediately."
• Orlando Bloom as Legolas: The Elven Prince of Mirkwood and the son of Thranduil. On 4 December 2010, Deadline reported that Bloom had entered into negotiations to reprise the role of Legolas. Bloom revealed on 25 April 2011 that he had been in contact with Jackson, who had given him a copy of the screenplay and said that there was a high probability that he would return. He was quoted as saying, "I'm going to bet on it... But I can't really talk too much about it because it's still sort of in the ether. But I would love to go back to work with Peter Jackson. It would be an honour." On 27 May 2011, Peter Jackson announced via Facebook that Bloom would reprise his role as Legolas.
• Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel: A female elf from Mirkwood. She is the Chief of the Guards for the Elvenking, Thranduil. Her name means "daughter of the wood". Peter Jackson has confirmed there will be no romantic connection to Legolas. Philipha Boyens stated that she was there so that there would be a female character in The Hobbit: "She's our redhead. We created her for that reason. To bring that energy into the film, that feminine energy. We believe it's completely within the spirit of Tolkien." Lilly, who had been a fan of Tolkien's books since she was 13, underwent training for swordplay and archery, as well as in the Elvish language for the role.
• Craig Hall as Galion: Elven King Thranduil's butler, whose fondness for drink allows for Bilbo and the dwarves' escape attempt.
• Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman: Bard of Esgaroth was a skilled archer and the heir of Girion, the last king of old Dale, described as "grim faced". Evans described playing the bowman as "really difficult to do", in regard to the physical nature of the part
• Stephen Fry as Master of Lake-town: The leader of the settlement of Men at Lake-town near the Lonely Mountain. According to Fry, "My character is an opportunity for sheer grossness... [Peter Jackson] had me eating testicles... gross appetites. I mustn't give too much away but I've got a bald cap and then on top of that a really bad combover wig and this wispy mustache and wispy beard and horrible blotchy skin and disgusting fingernails... And generally speaking a really unappetizing piece of work. And a coward to boot and very, very greedy."
• Ryan Gage as Alfrid: The Master of Laketown's "conniving" servant. Gage was originally cast to play Drogo Baggins, father of Frodo Baggins. According to Jackson, "Ryan is a great young actor who we originally cast in a small role, but we liked him so much, we promoted him to the much larger Alfrid part."
• John Bell as Bain: Son of Bard, he is described as "confident and brave and ready to do battle if required even though he is still a boy."
• Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug and as The Necromancer: Smaug the dragon (also known as Smaug the Terrible and Smaug the Magnificent) is the main antagonist in the story and had accumulated wealth from the enormous fortress city of Erebor as well as several surrounding human settlements, whilst ruling the mountain over the years. While Smaug is shown to be violent in nature, creating a desolation of the surrounding lands for which the film is named, he is also sentient and speaks at length in the novel with Bilbo. The Necromancer is the ruler of Dol Guldur in Mirkwood. A mysterious sorcerer with the ability to summon the spirits of the dead. The character had a brief appearance in An Unexpected Journey but will have a larger role in this film, and its sequel There and Back Again.
• Manu Bennett as Azog: An Orc and the archenemy of Thorin Oakenshield.
• Conan Stevens as Bolg: An Orc and the son of Azog.
• Ben Mitchell as Narzug

The Company of Dwarves

• Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield
• Graham McTavish as Dwalin
• Ken Stott as Balin
• Aidan Turner as Kíli
• Dean O'Gorman as Fíli
• Mark Hadlow as Dori
• Jed Brophy as Nori
• Adam Brown as Ori
• John Callen as "in
• Peter Hambleton as Glóin
• William Kircher as Bifur
• James Nesbitt as Bofur
• Stephen Hunter as Bombur

Production

Most of filming has been finished during 2012, ending on July 2012, but during May 2013, additional shooting for the film and the sequel began in New Zealand, which is set to last 10 weeks.

Score

The musical score for The Desolation of Smaug was composed by Howard Shore. It will be performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. The original motion picture soundtrack album is expected to release in late 2013, to coincide with the film's release.

Distribution

Marketing

Peter Jackson has provided the first details about the second film in the series at a live event held on 24 March 2013. The access code was attached to the DVD editions of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The live-broadcast event revealed some plot details; Jackson said that the role of Tauriel, acted by Evangeline Lilly, is a part of the elven guard and a bodyguard of the Elvenking, Thranduil. In addition, he revealed a scene from the film in which Gandalf and Radagast the Brown search for the Necromancer fortress and discover that the Ringwraiths have been released from their graves.

Theatrical release

The film is set to be released internationally from 11 December 2013. As part of an agreement between Warner Bros and New Line Cinema, the world premiere of the film will not be held in Wellington, New Zealand, as it was for the previous film in the series.