Back in July, Warner Bros. confirmed that this Middle Earth adventure will be expanded into a trilogy, instead of the original two-part adaptation that was planned. Many wondered how this would affect the runtime, although the director revealed it will be just a bit shorter than The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring.
"It's looking like it's going to be about ten minutes shorter than Fellowship was. So it's going to be officially our shortest Middle-earth yet. I mean, Fellowship was just under three hours and this is about 2 hours 40 minutes at the moment."
The filmmaker also added that the final credits have not been added and there are still a few effects shots left to be finished.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was released December 14th, 2012 and stars Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott, Graham McTavish, William Kircher, James Nesbitt, Stephen Hunter. The film is directed by Peter Jackson.
Comments (36)
To leave a comment, please sign in or use
Facebook or Twitter
Nicholaus XX
@ROFLitschristian -- If a movie runs longer than it should, what else could that imply?
7 months agoby @XxNickTheFilmCriticXxFlag
Bawnian©-Dexeus
Gandalf looks possessed
7 months agoby @bawnian-dexeusFlag
ROFLitschristian
@XxNickTheFilmCriticXx Except no one said anything about filler? ...
7 months agoby @ROFLitschristianFlag
Nicholaus XX
@moviegeek -- Good point.
@ROFLitschristian -- Filler doesn't "fly by". It does the exact opposite, actually.
7 months agoby @XxNickTheFilmCriticXxFlag
Red Camera Man
Love the pictures AND the runtime. :-)
7 months agoby @redcameramanFlag
moviegeek
@shuabert idk. I guess I'm really not that big of a fan of the Lord of the Rings to get excited about Jackson scraping up every last piece of information he can find to film.
7 months agoby @moviegeekFlag
Gandalf05
nice
7 months agoby @gandalf05Flag
CelluloidDreams
I figured as much!!
7 months agoby @2movieguysFlag
Bawnian©-Dexeus
If this were a TV series, it would run as long as ER
7 months agoby @bawnian-dexeusFlag
Josh
@moviegeek But they're not appendices, they're entire published works that exist independently of LotR and The Hobbit.
7 months agoby @shuabertFlag
moviegeek
@shuabert I would be less offended, and also less interested. I don't care to see Tolkien's appendixes brought to the big screen.
7 months agoby @moviegeekFlag
Josh
@moviegeek@thedude-abides Would you be less offended if it wasn't called The Hobbit? There is enough material in Tolkein's Legendarium to make several dozen films. It's entirely possible to make a trilogy based on the events that occur in the Hobbit novel by fleshing it out with history and expanding the context to the larger world. Hell, Jackson doesn't even have to invent new sh*t, because Tolkein was so detailed about everything that was going on at any given time.
@ghostman Yeah, I think all three of the films will be pulling from the appendices, as well as Unfinished Tales and the Silmarillion.
7 months agoby @shuabertFlag
the Narrator
These posters looked pretty mediocre (though I still enjoyed Gollum's) until I got to Galadriel's. My breath almost hitched, it was so surprisingly mesmerizing. Everything about it seems as though she was something delicate frozen in time. I'm probably the only one paying it so much attention, but I absolutely love that cover and wouldn't mind having it as a one-sheet for my house.
7 months agoby @narratorFlag
Shadow Of The Day
Nice.
7 months agoby @asifFlag
Ghostman
@shuabert Actually, Peter Jackson mentioned how the third movie will be based off of Tolkien's appendices. So maybe you are right.
7 months agoby @ghostmanFlag
thedude-abides
I agree w/ @moviegeek. Completely ridiculous considering it's being made into a trilogy, and all three films are likely to have similar runtimes.
7 months agoby @thedude-abidesFlag
Josh
@ghostman What are you talking about? Nothing has been suggested that part 2 will be an "intermission" based on appendices. There aren't even any appendices IN the Hobbit. The entire trilogy is going to span the one novel, with elements and subplots pulled from other Tolkien writings brought in to flesh out the story. For instance, there will probably be a lot of back story about the previous war between Orcs and Dwarves to set up the current quest, and there will be a lot of stuff about why Gandalf is involved and the importance of holding the North against Sauron's growing power.
7 months agoby @shuabertFlag
LuxoIII
@rudy Because three hour runtimes tend to scare off more casual audiences. But that didn't stop LOTR from being a huge success. Anyway, there's inevitably going to be an Extended Edition (true to Jackson form) so I bet you needn't worry :)
7 months agoby @brady1138Flag
Rudy
Come on just put it at 3 hours. Why are movie studios so scared of 3 hour run times??
7 months agoby @rudyFlag
Cheetoboy
Cool Posters especially Gollum's.
7 months agoby @cheetoboyFlag
Dumbumm
For a moment i thought Galadriel was sticking her middle finger up.
7 months agoby @DumbummFlag
skywise
@bawnian-dexeus Nor would I expect one. Maybe you are tired of all the Middle Earth shanangans.
Just because we disagree doesnt mean we MUST debate.
7 months agoby @skywiseFlag
Avian
How in the hell is that possible? I need to read the Hobbit again, maybe it has a lot more going on it in than I remember.
7 months agoby @avian005Flag
Ghostman
@bawnian-dexeus I think the covers are okay, could have been better.
7 months agoby @ghostmanFlag
Ghostman
@moviegeek You have to remember that Part 2 is based of the appendices; think of it as an "intermission/prequel" to Part 3 in which Part 3 will most likely be connected to the story that deals with Part 2 and pick up where Part 1 ended. If the other two parts are the same length, that's near 8 hours for one movie! Not to mention the inevitable Extended Editions that will be released after.
7 months agoby @ghostmanFlag
Bawnian©-Dexeus
@skywise To each his own bro. Not gonna start a marketing debate
7 months agoby @bawnian-dexeusFlag
ROFLitschristian
@moviegeek Because we'll be enjoying it so much it'll all fly by.
7 months agoby @ROFLitschristianFlag
ROFLitschristian
Gandalf looks just as threatening as Golum on that cover.
7 months agoby @ROFLitschristianFlag
skywise
@bawnian-dexeus i couldn't disagree with you more. I think the promo department has pretty much hit the nail on the head. These covers in particular look spectacular and each really seems to encompass the character portrayed.
7 months agoby @skywiseFlag
jasdjqs
with trailers,, will put it at 3 hours
7 months agoby @jasdjqsFlag