‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’ Unveils New Photos, Plus Trailer Premiere Info

Director Peter Jackson unveiled some new images from 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,' featuring Evangeline Lilly, Ian McKellen, and a whole bunch of green screen! Plus, he revealed when fans can expect to see the first trailer for the next installment.

Yesterday, Jackson held a live Q&A online with actors from both 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy and his new 'Hobbit' trilogy, including Lee Pace, Stephen Fry, Orlando Bloom and a special guest appearance by Stephen Colbert. During the Q&A, which was available online to those with a special code found in their purchased copies of 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,' Jackson revealed some new images from the upcoming sequel and discussed newcomer Evangeline Lily's role.

Lilly plays Tauriel, an elf not featured in J.R.R. Tolkien's novels and created specifically for the films by Jackson himself. Of Tauriel, Jackson says, "We’re quite excited about the storyline we have created for Tauriel. As you can see, she’s not an Elf Guard to be messed with." Indeed -- the footage shown apparently featured Tauriel kicking some major Orc ass.

Jackson also showed off concept art and a scene where Gandalf and Radagast the Brown investigate a crypt that's been opened from the inside. The director promises we'll get a trailer this summer, but until then, enjoy some new images from the sequel, courtesy of JoBlo. Who knows how long Warner Bros. will allow these to stay online, so get your peek asap:

IMAGES REMOVED AT THE REQUEST OF WARNER BROS.