More Character Posters for THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES !

Tim here, and here are three more character posters for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Spread across a few posts the last few days from The Hobbit's Official Facebook Page. The images above are the new posters. Each of them are close-ups on the faces of each character; First up we have Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellan) looking off to the side with a grim expression, followed by Galadrail (Cate Blanchett) staring directly into the eyes of viewer, and finally Legalos (Orlando Bloom) poised with his bow ready to let an arrow loose.

If you go to the Official Facebook Page and comment on the latest posting of the picture you can vote who's character poster you'd like to see next. This means we're going to be getting more character posters, and it could possibly be a character poster a day until we get the theatrical trailer. The cast is that large, so it is feasible.

The release of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies arrives in theaters December 17^th, 2014 in IMAX 3D, RealD 3D, HFR 3D..

Benedict Cumberbatch, Cate Blanchett and Christian Bale Head the Ensemble of Warner Bros. Pictures’ 3D Adventure JUNGLE BOOK: ORIGINS

Young actor Rohan Chand to star as Mowgli in the cast, also including Peter Mullan, Tom Hollander, Naomie Harris, Eddie Marsan, and Andy Serkis

Tim here, and I came upon a press release earlier today for Andy Serkis' Jungle Book adaption being handled by Warner Bros., which is not to be confused with the Disney one being directed by Jon Favreau. The press release (below) announces the cast of the Serkis headed movie, and it's quite the impressive cast. If you remember earlier in the year when I interviewed Andy Serkis at CinemaCon we spoke briefly about Jungle Book: Origins, which he had just been announced to direct.

Press Release:

BURBANK, Calif. --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Warner Bros. Pictures has assembled an impressive roster of stars for "Jungle Book: Origins," its new big-screen, 3D adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's classic The Jungle Book, marking the feature film directorial debut of Andy Serkis. The action adventure, which will blend motion capture and live action, will be released on October 21, 2016. The announcement was made today by Greg Silverman, President, Creative Development and Worldwide Production, and Sue Kroll, President, Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.
The actors performing the roles of the story's central animal characters are: Benedict Cumberbatch ("The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug") as the fearsome tiger, Shere Khan; Oscar winner Cate Blanchett ("Blue Jasmine") as the sinister snake, Kaa; Oscar winner Christian Bale ("The Fighter," the "Dark Knight" Trilogy) as the cunning panther, Bagheera; Andy Serkis ("Dawn of the Planet of the Apes") as the wise bear, Baloo; Peter Mullan ("Hercules") as the leader of the wolf pack, Akela; Tom Hollander as the scavenging hyena, Tabaqui; Naomie Harris ("Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom") as Nisha, the female wolf, who adopts the baby Mowgli as one of her cubs; Eddie Marsan ("Ray Donovan") as Nisha's mate, Vihaan; and Jack Reynor ("Transformers: Age of Extinction") as Mowgli's Brother Wolf. On the human side, young actor Rohan Chand ("The Hundred-Foot Journey," "Bad Words") will play the boy raised by wolves, Mowgli.
The film is being produced by Steve Kloves, who wrote seven of the blockbuster "Harry Potter" films. Jonathan Cavendish ("Elizabeth: The Golden Age," performance capture producer "Godzilla") is also serving as a producer. The screenplay is by Kloves' daughter, Callie Kloves, based on the stories by Kipling.
The story follows the upbringing of the human child Mowgli, raised by a wolf pack in the jungles of India. As he learns the often harsh rules of the jungle, under the tutelage of a bear named Baloo and a panther named Bagheera, Mowgli becomes accepted by the animals of the jungle as one of their own. All but one: the fearsome tiger Shere Khan. But there may be greater dangers lurking in the jungle, as Mowgli comes face to face with his human origins.

Look for production to begin as soon as Andy Serkis wraps up his duties on Star Wars Episode VII. Jungle Book: Origins hits theaters in 3D on October 21, 2016. More details when we get it.

WATCH: The First 5 Minutes Of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2

Here's the next iteration of the planned trilogy of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON tales - and we get to watch a full 5 minutes from it. Lots of action by way of a dragon race the vikings like to engage in, so some mild visual spoilers in this, but nothing really concerning the overall story I would say.

The imagery looks better and better everytime I see a Dreamworks Animation project! The score is well done again too and with hearing Jay Baruchel's voice again, it was a welcome memory from the first.

Here's the storyline for the movie:
The thrilling second chapter of the epic HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON trilogy brings us back to the fantastical world of Hiccup and Toothless five years after the two have successfully united dragons and vikings on the island of Berk. While Astrid, Snoutlout and the rest of the gang are challenging each other to dragon races (the island’s new favorite contact sport), the now inseparable pair journey through the skies, charting unmapped territories and exploring new worlds. When one of their adventures leads to the discovery of a secret ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace. Now, Hiccup and Toothless must unite to stand up for what they believe while recognizing that only together do they have the power to change the future of both men and dragons.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 flies into theaters June 13.

New HOBBIT Castings: Blanchett, Stott, McCoy And Persbrandt!!

Some fresh casting news for Peter Jackson's THE HOBBIT! TORn has the exclusive on this one:

CATE BLANCHETT, KEN STOTT, SYLVESTER MCCOY, MIKAEL PERSBRANDT JOIN CAST OF PETER JACKSON’S “THE HOBBIT”

Los Angeles, CA—December 7, 2010—Cate Blanchett, Ken Stott, Sylvester McCoy and Mikael Persbrandt and have joined the cast of Peter Jackson’s highly anticipated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic “The Hobbit.” Also joining them are Ryan Gage, Jed Brophy and William Kircher. The films, which are scheduled to commence principal photography in February 2011, mark Jackson’s return to Middle-earth following his Oscar-winning “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. The announcement was made jointly today by Toby Emmerich, President and Chief Operating Officer, New Line Cinema, Alan Horn, President and Chief Operating Officer, Warner Bros. and Steve Cooper, co-Chief Executive Officer of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.

Jackson, who directed all three “Lord of the Rings” films, will helm the two films back-to-back, telling the story of “The Hobbit” in two parts from a screenplay by Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Guillermo del Toro.

Cate Blanchett (“Lord of The Rings” trilogy, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) will reprise her role from “Lord of The Rings” trilogy as Galadriel, the Lady of Lothlorien. Ken Stott (“Charlie Wilson’s War”, TV’s “Rebus”) will play the Dwarf Lord Balin, Sylvester McCoy (TV’s “Doctor Who”) will play the wizard Radagast the Brown and well-known Swedish actor, Mikael Persbrandt (“Everlasting Moments”, “Day and Night”) will play the shape-shifter Beorn. British actor Ryan Gage (“Outlaw”, TV’s “Doctors”) will play Drogo Baggins, with New Zealand actors Jed Brophy (“Lord of The Rings” trilogy, “District 9”) playing the role of the dwarf Nori, and William Kircher (“Out of the Blue”; TV’s “Legend of the Seeker”) rounding out the company of Thorin Oakensheild in role of the dwarf Bifur.

Peter Jackson welcomed the news of Cate Blanchett’s return to Middle-earth “Cate is one of my favorite actors to work with and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have her reprise the role she so beautifully brought to life in the earlier films” On the casting of Scottish actor Ken Stott, Jackson commented “Fran and I have long been fans of Ken’s work and are excited he will be joining us on this journey.” Jackson also welcomed the addition to the cast of Swedish actor, Mikael Persbrandt “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.”

The actors join the previously announced cast including Martin Freeman (TV’s “Sherlock,” “Breaking and Entering”) as Bilbo Baggins, Richard Armitage (upcoming “Captain America: The First Avenger”), Aidan Turner (TV’s “Being Human”), Rob Kazinsky (TVs “EastEnders”), Graham McTavish (“Secretariat”), John Callen (TV’s “Power Rangers Jungle Fury”), Stephen Hunter (TV’s “All Saints”), Mark Hadlow (“King Kong”) and Peter Hambleton (TV’s “The Strip”). Additional cast announcements include James Nesbitt (“Millions” and TV’s “Cold Feet”) and newcomer Adam Brown.

“The Hobbit” films received a green light on October 15, and have release dates targeted for December, 2012 and December, 2013. Jackson will utilize groundbreaking visual effects and his incomparable storytelling to bring J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel to the big screen. Both “Hobbit” movies will be filmed in Digital 3-D, using the latest camera and stereo technology to create a high quality, comfortable viewing experience.

The two films are being co-produced by New Line Cinema and MGM, with New Line managing production, Warner Bros Pictures handling domestic distribution and MGM distributing internationally.

Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Carolynne Cunningham are producing the films, with co-writer Philippa Boyens serving as co-producer and Ken Kamins and Zane Weiner as executive producers. The Oscar-winning, critically acclaimed “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, also from the production team of Jackson, Walsh and Cunningham, grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide at the box office.. In 2003, “The Return of the King” swept the Academy Awards, winning all of the 11 categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture – the first ever Best Picture win for a fantasy film. The trilogy’s production was also unprecedented at the time.

ABOUT NEW LINE CINEMA:
New Line Cinema continues to be one of the most successful independent film companies. For more than 40 years, its mission has been to produce innovative, popular, profitable entertainment in the best creative environment. A pioneer in franchise filmmaking, New Line produced the Oscar®-winning “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which is a landmark in the history of film franchises. New Line Cinema is a division of Warner Bros.

ABOUT PETER JACKSON/WINGNUT FILMS:
Peter Jackson is one of the world’s most successful filmmakers. His monumental achievement co-writing, co-producing and directing The Lord of the Rings trilogy (with fellow Academy Award winners and frequent collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens) earned a total of 30 Academy Award nominations and 17 Academy Awards. Jackson and Walsh received their first Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay for their acclaimed film Heavenly Creatures. Jackson, through his New Zealand-based Wingnut Films banner, also was responsible for the globally successful 2005 remake of King Kong which earned over $500 million worldwide and 3 Academy Awards. Jackson most recently directed the Academy Award nominated The Lovely Bones; an adaptation of the acclaimed best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, which to date has earned nearly $100 million worldwide; and produced the global sensation, District 9, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. He is also developing a trilogy of films with Steven Spielberg based on Tintin, the world renowned comic book series by Herge. In 2010 he received a Knighthood for his services to film.

ABOUT METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER STUDIOS INC.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. is actively engaged in the worldwide production and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, home video, interactive media, music, and licensed merchandise. The company owns the world’s largest library of modern films, comprising around 4,100 titles. Operating units include Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc., United Artists Films Inc., MGM Television Entertainment Inc., MGM Networks Inc., MGM Distribution Co., MGM International Television Distribution Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment LLC, MGM ON STAGE, MGM Music, MGM Consumer Products and MGM Interactive. In addition, MGM has ownership interests in domestic and international TV channels reaching over 130 countries. For more information, visit www.mgm.com.

Great to see Blanchett back into Middle-earth! More when I get it...