Yesterday, we brought you hopeful news that the trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey would be our Christmas present this year for us good little fantasy geeks. What better way to whet our appetite in anticipation of the first of two Hobbit films coming out in December of 2012? Peter Jackson is so good to us!
Now, we’ve got some gorgeous pics shot on location by AICN reporter Eric “Quint” Vespe. These photos take us to the incredibly lush New Zealand landscapes selected by Jackson to represent Middle Earth. Check them out below!
[Click Images To Blow Sh!t Up]
The location is Mangaotaki Rocks that represents Trollshaw, where Bilbo, Gandalf and the thirteen Dwarves search for the Stone Trolls’ treasure.
Above: Course, there is treasure and relics in the Stone Trolls’ cave like this guy that didn’t quite make it. No pic of Sting, the elvish Hobbit-sized sword that glows in warning of nearby orcs, but maybe we might see it in the trailer later this month?
[Above: Stephen Hunter on break while in full costume and makeup as Bombur.]
[Above: Paul “Tall Paul” Randall, who doubles for Ian McKellen as Gandalf on shots where scale is an issue with other characters of smaller stature.]
New Zealand’s natural landscapes are the real treasure here!
Synopsis:
“The Hobbit” follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakensheild. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.
Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever… Gollum.
Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities… A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is slated to hit theaters on December 14, 2012.
The Hobbit: There and Back Again is slated to hit theaters on December 13, 2013.
The films star Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Richard Armitage, Cate Blanchette, Elijah Wood, Hugo Weaving, Sylvester McCoy, Aidan Turner , Graham McTavish, John Callen, Ken Stott, Mikael Persbrandt, Ryan Gage, Jed Brophy, William Kircher, Stephen Hunter, Ian Holm, Stephen Fry, Ryan Gage, Conan Stevens, Orlando Bloom, Luke Evans, Evangeline Lilly, Barry Humphries and Benedict Cumberbatch.
