‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ New Trailer Released [VIDEO]

The film, which has already received a great deal of buzz for being shot in 48fps -– a format that has become highly rare -– is due in theaters Dec. 14.

“The Hobbit”, which is currently in post-production, will feature many returning “Lord of the Rings” cast members including Elijah Wood (Frodo), Cate Blanchett (Galadriel), Hugo Weaving (Elrond), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Christopher Lee (Saruman), and Andy Serkis (Gollum.)

But it will also welcome aboard some new faces, like former “Lost” star Evangeline Lilly, who will play an elf named Tauriel, and former “Doctor Who” actor Sylvester McCoy, who will play Radagast, a wizard who is  mentioned only briefly in “The Hobbit” and "The Lord of the Rings."

“The Hobbit,” based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book of the same name, will be a prequel to Jackson’s award-winning “Lord of The Rings” series. The film has already garnered some controversy from Tolkien fans, since Jackson has opted to expand the film into a three-series installment despite the fact that the book “The Hobbit” is adapted from is markedly shorter than even one of the "Ring” trilogy books.

Some speculated that Jackson would flesh out the story with material from later Tolkien works, including “The Silmarillion” and “Unfinished Tales,” but as many fans commented, the rights to those books still belong to the Tolkien estate, which was reportedly not too pleased with Jackson’s "Ring" adaptations.

In a blog post for The Guardian, James Russell summed up the case against Jackson: “The critique is pretty simple –- Jackson and his team are stretching a simple story beyond reasonable limits to make more money from ticket sales. … It looks as if Jackson is running entirely on empty, pushing this side project to ridiculous extremes because he has nothing else to offer.”

The first film in Jackson’s trilogy, “An Unexpected Journey” is slated for release in 2012. The second installments, “The Desolation of Smaug,” and “There and Back Again,” will be released in 2013, and 2014, respectively.  

View the video below to see the new trailer.