‘The Hobbit’ Trilogy Now Has New Titles and Release Dates

So we're exceptionally curious about 'The Hobbit' films now that Peter Jackson and company have decided to transform two pictures into three. We have no idea if this was a good decision, or just a chance to take advantage of audiences that fell in love with the first three films. What we do know are the titles of the trilogy and their release dates.

And the order goes like this:

• 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' - December 14, 2012
• 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug' - December 13, 2013
• 'The Hobbit: There and Back Again' -  July 18, 2014

The most notable thing here (though it was rumored) is that the third film comes seven months after the release of the second film, whereas the previous 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy spaced everything a year apart. That was the game plan when it was two movies, but that's obviously changed. This also suggests that they don't expect to be rewarded with Oscars this far into the franchise - the first three films were all nominated for best picture, and it seems unlikely this trilogy will repeat that hat trick.

The other notable thing here is that the title of the second film is now the title of the third film, with 'The Desolation of Smaug' giving us a better sense of how things will be divided. Last we heard about the third film there was no shooting script for the third movie, and only a game plan to set aside seven weeks to film more. But you know, no pressure.