Elves, Dwarves and Orcs Do Battle in the First Trailer for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Posted on November 6, 2014

The first full trailer for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is out and it is truly epic. The film is the last in the three films that tell the story of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

At the end of the last film hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) had reached the Lonely Mountain with a party of Dwarves led by the last king of the Dwarves, Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage). Gandalf (Ian McKellan ) was missing for a great deal of this part of the adventure as he investigating the growing darkness in the East that causes so much trouble in The Lord of the Rings. They found the dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch) sleeping on a giant horde of the Dwarves' treasure. Bilbo wakens him while trying to steal a cup, and Smaug goes on the rampage.

Meanwhile, the Mirkwood Elves led by their King Thranduil (Lee Pace) have decided that they want a part of this great treasure which Thorin has no intention of handing over. Thorin has been bewitched by the gold and his family despairs of making him see reason. After all, there is treasure enough for all and they've been keeping the Orcs from destroying the river trade with Lake-town.

While the Dwarves are readying to battle with the Mirkwood Elves, Sauron has sent platoons of Orcs to to attack Thorin and those at the Lonely Mountain. Now Men, Elves and Dwarves (with an assist from the Great Eagles) will need to put their squabbles aside to fight Sauron or else they will all perish.

In the trailer we see quite a few familiar characters from both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) is seen kissing a sleeping or dying Gandalf. Legolas Greenleaf (Orlando Bloom) is seen battling Orcs with his ususal speed and skill. Saruman (Christopher Lee) tells Elrond (Hugo Weaving) to "leave Sauron to me." Of course no one realizes that Saruman is a traitor at this point.

Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) is seen sharing a tender moment with Kili (Aidan Turner). And Bard the Bowman (Luke Evans) is accusing Thorin of destroying Lake-town by unleashing Smaug.

The trailer is simply amazing. The film, which was directed by Peter Jackson, will hit theaters on December 17, 2014. Take a look: