According to one of TheOneRing.net’s “spies,” New Line Cinema has registered new movie titles which relate to The Hobbit. As fellow Hollywood Jesus editor Yo Snyder posted yesterday, it has been confirmed that Peter Jackson’s version of the JRR Tolkien tale is being expanded from two movies to three. (See It’s Officially A Trilogy [Updated].) Here is what TheOneRing.net reported earlier today:

We have exclusive and reliable news from Ringer Spy Thrush that New Line has registered the following film titles:

The Desolation of Smaug

The Battle of Five Armies

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies

Apparently this doesn’t mean New Line is definitely going to use one, or both, or either of them! Our spy tells us that because they must register their eventual title, studios often register multiple titles. One could suggest, based on these titles, that maybe we’ll have a change to the first film title? That ‘An Unexpected Journey’ memorabilia would sure increase in value!

I personally find it very unlikely the studio will rename the first film after all the publicity it has released using An Unexpected Journey. I assume, however, that the names of the second and third films will depend upon fan reaction to the registered names. I do think the second movie will definitely get a different name. How could it be called There and Back Again if Bilbo hasn’t gotten back home yet? And I rather think Jackson has given us huge hints as to the content of the films in the titles registered today.

So, what do you think? How do you feel about three movies, and the proposed names? What do you think will be included in each movie? Please leave your comments below.

2 Responses to “The Hobbit”

1. Greg Wright  
   August 1st, 2012 at 9:12 am

   Here’s what I told a friend on Facebook a couple of days ago:
   

   I’m guessing that Film 1 will be up through the crossing of the Great River, and cover much of the ground of the story of Aragorn and Arwen; Film 2 will start with Beorn and cover the crossing of Mirkwood, arrival at Lake Town, and the assault on Dol Goldur; and they’ll save all of Smaug and the Battle of Five Armies for Film 3.

   The original plan was, I believe, to play “wait and see” on the LoTR appendices material (Aragorn and Arwen). When the initial report came out about the third movie, I thought — oh, well, there’s the third movie: bridge material, as we all expected. But if the third movie is NOT a bridge movie, and instead concludes Bilbo’s tale, I’m not sure where else you’d wedge in the appendices material. It would kill the middle movie, and would be irrelevant to the third.

   In light of the film titles registered, I’m guessing that they’ve opted to wedge the appendices material into the third movie and end the second somewhere around the death of Smaug. That bodes well for the flow and content of the first two movies — but bodes very ill for the third, in my book. An odd choice to spend a whole movie building up to a battle through which your protagonist was, as readers will recall, unconscious. And how would LoTR appendices material be grafted onto that story? It’s awfully late in Bilbo’s tale to be introducing new story threads.

2. Mark Sommer  
   August 1st, 2012 at 4:34 pm

   Thanks for the comment, Greg. I haven’t had much time to think about the whole thing very seriously, but I rather think the appendices material will be woven into all three movies. My impression was that as Jackson was beginning to put things together he realized he had way to much material to fit into two movies, and didn’t like what he would have to cut for the theatrical versions.
   I have long thought the first movie will probably end as the travelers approach Laketown in the barrels. I still think that will work.
   If they make the break between movies 2 & 3 right after the death of Smaug, there is still plenty of narrative to cover. There is certainly much they can do with the Arkenstone, and Bilbo is still awake for that.

Leave a Reply