Greater Perils Face Bilbo and Company in 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug' Teaser

Bilbo (Martin Freeman) and his company of dwarves close in on The Lonely Mountain.

After teasing audiences nearly six months ago with just an eye bursting out mountains of gold, director Peter Jackson briefly reveals a bit more of the dragon Smaug in the teaser trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, which was released online Tuesday. 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug continues the journey across Middle-earth from last Christmas as Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman from BBC Sherlock fame) and thirteen dwarves set out to take back a mountain stronghold from a gold-hoarding fire breathing dragon.




SPOILER ALERT

The two minute teaser offers audiences a taste of what to expect beginning to end in Desolation of Smaug, leaving little of the overall plot in the dark. Fans of the Tolkien novel are fully aware that Bilbo and company will face spiders, xenophobic Wood-elves, culminating in Bilbo's confrontation with Smaug. On top of that, there's still one more movie set for Christmas 2014.

Despite being one-third of a 300-page children's book, the plot of Desolation of Smaug is sure to fill out a 3-hour run time like the previous film and the three Lord of the Rings films. Like The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Jackson expands on Tolkien's Appendices, divulging a subplot surrounding the Gandalf and the White Council attacking evil stronghold, Dol Guldur. 

Only hinted in the middle of An Unexpected Journey, Gandalf teams up with eccentric wizard Radagast the Brown (Sylvester McCoy) to discover more about the mysterious being referred to as the Necromancer. The Radagast character has the opportunity to redeem himself in The Desolation of Smaug after being depicted as Middle-earth's hippie wizard covered head-to-toe in bird droppings.

Luke Evans (Fast & Furious 6) joins the cast as Bard the Bowman, bearing a striking resemblance to Orlando Bloom, who returns for his fourth outing as Legolas. But expect this prequel version of Legolas to fuel a prejudice against the dwarves coming into his realm unexpectedly. 

Lee Pace's Elvenking is also expanded upon from his cameo in the previous film, providing a brooding voice over to kick off the teaser trailer. Evangeline Lilly enters the Middle-earth saga as warrior elf, Tauriel, a Peter Jackon creation exclusive to the film. She and Legolas fight side-by-side, with the possibility of a romantic subplot brewing.

The teaser trailer gives the impression that The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug will be this trilogy's version of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The plot's taking darker roads the first film, but blends fantasy with the prelude to an unavoidable battle in the final installment.

END SPOILERS

For those doubting Jackson after several reservations concerning An Unexpected Journey, many issues seem to be taken care of, however the end of the trailer clearly states that the panned HFR 3D (High Frame Rate) will still be an option upon the film's theatrical release. 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug hits theaters December 13.