'The Hobbit 3: Battle of the Five Armies' Release Date, Spoilers; Movie Set to Be the Darkest in the Hobbit Trilogy
"The Hobbit 3: Battle of the Five Armies," the third and last of the Hobbit trilogy, is expected to be the darkest film of them all, according to reports.
According to Movie Pilot, which pointed out Peter Jackson's statement during the San Diego Comic Con, "The Hobbit 3" is set to bridge the gap between the relatively peaceful Middle-earth of the previous "Hobbit" movies to that of the "Lord of the Rings" dark tone.
The speculation was backed by the details provided by the first trailer of "The Hobbit 3" which shows Elven and Orc armies gathered in the battlefield, preparing for an onslaught. "The Five Armies" as described include the Dwarves, the Elves, the Goblins, the Eagles and the Humans.
Meanwhile, news update about the movie cited new pictures posted on "The Hobbit 3" official Facebook page showing Azog the Defiler standing on top of an elevated plane, leading his vast army of orcs to the Lonely Mountain ready for the final battle.
The pale orc Azog ("Spartacus" actor Manu Bennett), who has appeared in both first and second of the series, has been known to work for a "very familiar enemy" hiding in a name of Necromancer.
While some fans of the film franchise are quite excited in the conclusion of the epic trilogy, others expressed disappointment of how the screen adaptation differs from the books by J.R.R. Tolkein.
Set 60 years prior to the first events of "The Lord of the Rings," the final installment of the prequel series is expected to reveal how Sauron, the greatest enemy of Middle-earth, eventually gained the power to return and lay havoc to the fictional world.
"Hobbit 3: Battle of the Five Armies" is set to arrive on Dec. 26 for Australian cinemas, Dec. 11 in New Zealand, Dec. 12 in U.K., and Dec. 17 in U.S. and Canada.