The new trailer for The Hobbit 2: The Desolation of Smaug has landed. Continuing on from An Unexpected Journey, we see Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) square off against the dragon Smaug, voiced by Sherlock himself Benedict Cumberbatch.
Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom all return with new cast members Evangeline Lilly and Luke Evans also joining the ranks.
Initial reactions? We still don't get a proper look at Smaug. Maybe that's the idea, we guess. Anybody's who read the book will know they're slight on detail when it came to Smaug, the same way they were light on detail with the Balrog from Lord of the Rings.
We do, however, get to hear Cumberbatch's silken voice as Smaug and that's kind of cool. They're definitely trying to underline the fact that things are escalating - it's a sequel, they always do - and that it'll be moving sharply away from the cutesy element that the first kind of had.
Seeing Orlando Bloom back as Legolas was a nice touch and, together with McKellen as Gandalf, gives it a nice sense of continuation with Lord of the Rings.
Check it out and let us know what you think!
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