Source: Peter Jackson Facebook | TheOneRing.net | Posted By: Dan Geer
Last week a rumor hit that the third film in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Trilogy, There and Back Again, might get a new title, following a report that the title The Hobbit: Into the Fire was recently registered by New Line.
As it turns out, Peter Jackson himself revealed to the world through his Facebook page that indeed the title of the third film has changed, but not to Into the Fire. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is now the title of the third film, rather than The Hobbit: There and Back Again. Read what Jackson had to say about the change, as well as some brief details on the Extended Edition of The Desolation of Smaug below!
Via Peter Jackson:
Inside Information…
Our journey to make The Hobbit Trilogy has been in some ways like Bilbo’s own, with hidden paths revealing their secrets to us as we’ve gone along. “There and Back Again” felt like the right name for the second of a two film telling of the quest to reclaim Erebor, when Bilbo’s arrival there, and departure, were both contained within the second film. But with three movies, it suddenly felt misplaced—after all, Bilbo has already arrived “there” in the “Desolation of Smaug”.
When we did the premiere trip late last year, I had a quiet conversation with the studio about the idea of revisiting the title. We decided to keep an open mind until a cut of the film was ready to look at. We reached that point last week, and after viewing the movie, we all agreed there is now one title that feels completely appropriate.
And so: “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” it is.
As Professor Tolkien intended, “There and Back Again” encompasses Bilbo’s entire adventure, so don’t be surprised if you see it used on a future box-set of all three movies.
Before then however, we have a film to finish, and much to share with you. It’s been a nice quiet time for us—Jabez and I happily editing away in a dark cave in Wellington—but those halcyon days are quickly coming to an end. It will soon be time to step into the light. Expect to see and hear much about The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies in the coming months.
And there’s also The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Extended Cut, which we’re in the process of finishing, with over 25 mins of new scenes, all scored with original music composed by Howard Shore.
It’ll be a fun year!
According to TheOneRing.net, since Warner Brothers/New Line must register the real title of the film, registering a few different titles is common practice. So it is likely that The Hobbit: Into the Fire won’t actually be used for anything, now that we know what all three Hobbit films are titled. What is also interesting is that The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies (instead of the Five Armies) was a title registered almost two years ago. Make of that what you will.
Personally, I was rather fond of There and Back Again, but this new title is also fitting. My only question is, wouldn’t Bilbo still be “there” at the Kingdom of Erebor at the beginning of the third film, thus still making There and Back Again an appropriate title? While we haven’t seen the film yet, the ending of The Desolation of Smaug seems to indicate as much.
Whatever the case, either title works, and I’m sure Warner Brothers and New Line think The Battle of the Five Armies is a punchier, more action-packed title that would help audiences get more excited for the film (even though we all know that having the words “The Hobbit” in the title have more to do with it than anything).
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, is due out in theaters nationwide this December 17th.
