Last night was the world premiere of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the second in The Hobbit trilogy of films. In celebration of the premiere, over 30 screenshots have been released, along with some behind the scenes pics, all for us to relish until we finally get the Regular People premiere on December 13. These screen shots are an absolute visual feast.

Following the pics, take a look at our first chance to see Smaug in full; on the side of an Air New Zealand plane. Hobbit design company Weta had to create the dragon for the airline, since there’s no single shot that shows the entire dragon. Cool.

Featurette: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Air New Zealand: Smaug Has Landed

If you must see all things Hobbit, here’s over an hour’s worth of coverage of the “black carpet” premiere. Nothing actually happens until about 12 minutes in, although you do get to listen to some of the wonderful soundtrack.

Featurette: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Premiere on the Black Carpet
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPvu9RaGRTo[/youtube]

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, starring Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, 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 is scheduled to hit the theaters on December 13.