Watch: THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG Extended Edition Scene Disc Preview

Tim here, and in case you forgot about The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition, we've got a preview of a scene from it here! I know, how can there be more goodness from the second Hobbit movie? Well there is and I'm pretty excited about it. With any luck we'll get a special The Hobbit Extended Edition Marathon in 3D in theaters leading up to the release of The Battle of the Five Armies. 

The scene showcases Bilbo's climbing skills after the company reaches a swamp, which they've been warned by Gandalf holds some dark enchantments. That doesn't appear to stop the dwarves though, who encourage Bilbo to cross as he's the lightest. 

Check out the scene below:

There will be a total of 25-minutes of additional and extended scenes for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition. It's going to show some intriguing new moments from Bilbo's journey. 

You can grab a copy of the The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition on November 3^rd on 3D Blu-Ray (and it's native 3D of course - shot on 3ality Technica rigs), 2D Blu-Ray, and DVD, a month before The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies hits theaters on December 17^th, 2014 in IMAX 3D, RealD 3D, HFR 3D, and regular flavor 2D.

TITLE CHANGE: Hobbit 3 Now Titled THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES !

SURPRISE! Tim here, and Peter Jackson has revealed today that the third Hobbit movie will in fact be called: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. That's right. Read below what Jackson had to say on his Official Facebook Page announcing the title change:

Peter Jackson

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_“Inside Information...

Our journey to make The Hobbit Trilogy has been in some ways like Bilbo's own, with hidden paths revealing their secrets to us as we've gone along. "There and Back Again" felt like the right name for the second of a two film telling of the quest to reclaim Erebor, when Bilbo's arrival there, and departure, were both contained within the second film. But with three movies, it suddenly felt misplaced—after all, Bilbo has already arrived "there" in the "Desolation of Smaug".

When we did the premiere trip late last year, I had a quiet conversation with the studio about the idea of revisiting the title. We decided to keep an open mind until a cut of the film was ready to look at. We reached that point last week, and after viewing the movie, we all agreed there is now one title that feels completely appropriate.

And so: "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" it is.

As Professor Tolkien intended, "There and Back Again" encompasses Bilbo's entire adventure, so don't be surprised if you see it used on a future box-set of all three movies.

Before then however, we have a film to finish, and much to share with you. It's been a nice quiet time for us—Jabez and I happily editing away in a dark cave in Wellington—but those halcyon days are quickly coming to an end. It will soon be time to step into the light. Expect to see and hear much about The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies in the coming months.

And there's also The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Extended Cut, which we're in the process of finishing, with over 25 mins of new scenes, all scored with original music composed by Howard Shore.

It'll be a fun year!_”

There you have it. At least he revealed some additional information about The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition and how much extra footage we can expect. More than likely additional Mirkwood footage will be in there, including Bombur taking a nap after his dip in an enchanted stream as per the book. Also, it's nice to hear that the There and Back Again title isn't completely abandoned as it may show up in box sets of the movie. Here's to hoping for an awesome Extended Edition Trilogy Box Set titled The Hobbit: There and Back Again.

Fear not as the release date for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is still December 17^th, 2014. And, look for word on the release of the The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition release date.

HOBBIT UPDATE: More AUJ Extended Edition Details + Clip

"Rembember, remember the fifth of November." Tim here with some new details on the The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition that's coming out this fall. In all the Extended Edition will contain 13-minutes of additional footage and nine hours of bonus content.

First the Extended Edition will be hitting the Digital Download scene on October 22^nd and will be followed by 3D Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray, and DVD release on November 5^th. The five-disc Blu-ray 3D set will retail for $54.98, while the three-disc Blu-ray will be priced at $35.99; and a five-disc DVD at $34.99. Bonus features include audio commentary with Peter Jackson and co-producer-screenwriter Philippa Boyens; along with "The Appendices," a multi-part documentary focusing on various aspects of the film and the trilogy. All will have UltraViolet, and Digital Download will most likely see a select number of bonus items as iTunes Extras for the digital iTunes release.

"I'm thrilled that the extended edition will give fans the opportunity to experience certain key scenes in the film as they were originally shot, as well as an abundance of special features," Jackson said in a statement. "It's exciting to present this expanded and enriched version of 'An Unexpected Journey' to allow fans to fully immerse themselves in the movie, before seeing the second part of the trilogy."

They also included a clip in the report. You can check out the clip below:

WRITER'S NOTE: Personally I'm not a big fan of the box art. I loved the LOTR Extended Edition box art and wish this was consistent with those, but understand that due to declining home market sales of physical copies of movies the studio needs to do everything they can to make the art recognizable with the movie. It needs to sell. I'm on the Digital Download side, and only buy movies now in that format. If only they'd release a 3D version in Digital Download. Technically they can do this (I've tested iTunes format SBS 3D through AppleTV on to 3DTV), but it has yet to happen.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Extended Edition hits shelves Novermber 5^th. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug hits IMAX 3D and RealD 3D theaters December 13^th, 2013, and The Hobbit: There and Back Again hits IMAX 3D and RealD 3D theaters December 17^th, 2014.

HOBBIT UPDATE: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Extended Edition Details!!

Tim here. For those of you who will be viewing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey again before seeing The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in December, you can actually watch an Extended Edition that ties into the second film more this November.

The details come from Empire, who broke the story today as part of a tie-in with their newest issue coming out on June 27, 2013, which has The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug on the cover. Peter Jackson told Empire: "You are going to get some serious Dwarvish disrespect of the elves at Rivendell,"

Check out the video interview he had with Empire attached below. Further, Jackson talks about this being his favorite deleted scene from the first film.

When Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens spoke to Empire they said (emphasis mine):

"You are going to get more of Hobbiton," says producer / co-writer [Philippa] Boyens. "We always wanted to wend our way through Hobbiton, but in the end Bilbo has to run out of the door."

"You are going to get more Goblin Town, and the Great Goblin singing his song," adds Fran Walsh, Jackson's other half and fellow screenwriter. "It is a great song, but it was just another delay in terms of moving the story along."

"We are putting things in the extended cut that are going to play straight into the second film," explains Jackson, "like this character Girion, who is defending [the city of] Dale using black arrows against Smaug. And the black arrows play a part in an ongoing story, for they are the one thing that can pierce the dragon's hide."

"There are also issues with [king of the elves] Thranduil (Lee Pace)," Jackson adds. "We get some of the reason why he and the dwarves had a falling out – to do with these white gems…"

Sounds like some exciting additions. I'm all for more An Unexpected Journey goodness, especially anything that expands the back story for the later films.

The Extended Editions arrive in November, and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug hits IMAX 3D and RealD 3D theaters December 13^th.

Expect Extended Edition 3D Blu-Rays Of THE HOBBIT

Tim here with a "I could have told you this was coming." Reported out of theonering.net it turns out that three movies aren't enough to satisfy all the footage for The Hobbit. We're looking at Extended Editions of each as well, just as it was with The Lord of the Rings. No complaints because Extended Editions means more enjoyment for fans... and a push for 3DTV's and the 3D Blu-Rays!

Just like the LOTR DVDs the theatrical cuts will hit the DVD, Blu-Ray, and Digital Copy market first, followed by the Extended Editions a few months later. Expect the 3D Blu-Ray to also have the Extended Scenes in 3D. This will give more people incentive to purchase a 3DTV so that they can enjoy the Extended Editions as they were meant to be seen. However, will the digital copies also be 3D? It's not a hard leap for the iTunes digital copies to be available in 3D as through an AppleTV one can easily play a side-by-side squeeze on a 3DTV and have it interpreted as 3D. All Apple has to do is enable 3D in the iTunes Store. That's wishful thinking at this time. The Blu-Rays are guaranteed to be 3D at least.

Here's the storyline for THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY:
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY follows title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain, first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever… Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities… A simple, goldring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hits theaters on December 14^th worldwide.