Winter is coming, wait, wrong fantasy franchise, war is coming and with ‘The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies‘ bringing a close to Peter Jackson’s epic take on the classic series by J.R.R. Tolkien, we’ve got some new images to share with you. With this being the sixth installment into the realm of Middle-earth, you’d think that Jackson may have something special for us and according to him this is going to be his favorite film of the lot! In the images below you’ll see some familiar faces though it isn’t the first shot of Gandalf from the film that has been released.

While most of his movies are known for having an epic journey, Jackson tells fans that this one “doesn’t have any of that” as “everybody’s where they need to be, there’s no new characters, all cards are on the table.” As we all know the initial quest didn’t work out Team Hobbit’s destination became a little more dangerous due to Smaug waking up. “That was a mountain no one would go near because of the danger of the dragon,”explains Jackson. “Now the deterrent flies out, and that changes the dynamics of everything.”

According to producer and screenwriter Philippa Boyens, “It’s a very dangerous victory” as this last movie is “moving toward the darkness of The Lord of the Rings. It has some pretty intense drama and gives actors a chance to sink their teeth into some of the stuff.”

This trilogy will come to quite a different climax than the previous one as in the ‘Lord of the Rings’ says Jackson. “It was like a nuclear confrontation at the end. It was ultimately throwing a ring into lava but till then it was massive superpowers coming together” while in ‘The Hobbit’ “The fate of Middle-earth is not really going to swing one way or the other. But there’s a lot of characters we’ve introduced, and some of them we like and some of them who we feel empathy for are going to behave badly because they’re confronted with the ultimate test, which is massive wealth. And it brings out the worst in people.”

With no journey ahead of them this is going to be a much more action packed film than fans of Jackson’s work are used to. We won’t be seeing a long quest and will be diving straight into the action and following it through to the film’s conclusion. “I haven’t made a film quite like this,” Jackson says. “It’s my ‘All the President’s Men’ — or the closest I’m ever going to get.”

I’m not going to lie when I say that I will fully miss our visits to The Shire through Peter Jackson’s eyes. While purists will be against some of the liberties that he has taken, I for one have loved his vision of the world and am glad he was able to bring us fully through this epic tale.

Are you looking forward to seeing the last installment of ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy? Do you think Jackson has been doing a good job so far or are you eager for a new fantasy series to get the big screen treatment?

Synopsis:

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and the Company of Dwarves. Having reclaimed their homeland from the Dragon Smaug, the Company has unwittingly unleashed a deadly force into the world. Enraged, Smaug rains his fiery wrath down upon the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town. Obsessed above all else with his reclaimed treasure, Thorin sacrifices friendship and honor to hoard it as Bilbo’s frantic attempts to make him see reason drive the Hobbit towards a desperate and dangerous choice. But there are even greater dangers ahead. Unseen by any but the Wizard Gandalf, the great enemy Sauron has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon the Lonely Mountain. As darkness converges on their escalating conflict, the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must decide – unite or be destroyed. Bilbo finds himself fighting for his life and the lives of his friends in the epic Battle of the Five Armies, as the future of Middle-earth hangs in the balance.

‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ opens in theaters on December 17th and stars Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, Evangeline Lilly, Stephen Fry, Ian McKellan, Hugo Weaving, Lee Pace and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Source: USA Today