The Hobbit

There seem to be two paths for monumentally popular pieces of art and entertainment once the initial excitement around them begins to wear off. Either they become a cultural touchstone, and become a part of the fabric of everyday communication, or they become a footnote, a piece of trivia relevant only as nostalgia and an occasional answer at bar trivia. I revisit Peter Jackson’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy every few years, because I desperately want it to be the former and not the latter.

Both ‘The Colbert Report’ and ‘The Hobbit’ franchises will come to an end in the next few weeks, and given Stephen Colbert’s unabashed love for all things Tolkien, we’ve seen a great deal of cross-promotion. The latest might be the most impressive yet however, as Colbert interviews none other than the dragon Smaug himself, live on the set!

Having gone on an unexpected journey and endured the desolation of Smaug, Peter Jackson’s bloated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ finally comes to ‘The Battle of the Five Armies,’ which is less of a climax to this trilogy than a distended epilogue. After spending two movies and 330 minutes building up the dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch) as the ultimate antagonist, he’s eliminated from the story completely in the first ten minutes. He’s literally gone before the title appears onscreen.

It's being touted as the “definitive chapter” in the ‘Hobbit’ trilogy, and it promises to be the most epic conclusion, culminating in a huge, 45-minute battle sequence. But it's also been quite a journey, with three ‘Lord of the Rings’ films and now ending with the third ‘Hobbit’ film. For this farewell, ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ will get an appropriately emotional goodbye with an end credits song performed by Billy Boyd, who played Pippin in all three ‘Lord of the Rings’ films. And now you can listen to the end credits song in full before the film hits theaters.

The final 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies' trailer has arrived and, well, it looks like another 'Hobbit' movie. If your faith in director Peter Jackson's vision of Middle-Earth remains unshaken, prepare to get excited. If the previous two films have muted your excitement for the series, prepare to see...more of the same.

Warner Bros. continues to tout 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies' as the defining chapter of the middle earth saga, and the most epic installment yet. How epic? Well, it apparently culminates with a 45-minute battle sequence featuring dwarves and orcs and elves and all their various weapons and such. It's a big ol' middle earth war party, and Peter Jackson has the diagram to prove it.

Back in 2012, some of the cast members from the 'Hobbit' films appeared in an in-flight safety video for Air New Zealand titled "An Unexpected Safety Briefing," and to coincide with the upcoming sequel 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies,' they've made a different kind of sequel: "The Most Epic Safety Video Ever Made." It is very epic indeed.

The new 'Hobbit 3' banner is basically a "Top 10"-y list of things to look forward to in the film. Taking the same storyboard format as previous key art for the earlier installments, this latest poster chronicles some of the epic moments to come, including a fiery showdown with the dragon Smaug and one blood-spattered battle.

With the arrival of the 'Hobbit 3' trailer, it's finally starting to sink in that our time in Middle Earth is coming to an epic finish. What began with 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring' 13 years ago will officially end this December...

Last year, 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug' ended on a huge cliffhanger that promised a fiery start to 'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.' The new poster for the third film in director Peter Jackson's Middle Earth prequel trilogy takes the final images from the previous film and runs with them, promising a showdown that fans of the book have been waiting three years to see.