Legolas and Smaug cameo in 'Hobbit 2' trailer

Posted Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 4:27 PM Central
Last updated Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 4:41 PM Central

by John Couture

Move over Game of Thrones, you're not the only one on the block to have dragons. Finally, Smaug, the dragon and titular character of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, sees the light of day at the end of today's first trailer for the second film in the trilogy.

And he's not the only one getting noticed.

I love it when they release a new Hobbit trailer because all of the Tolkien fanatics and Peter Jackson apologists turn into the Jets and the Sharks and do battle. Case in point, be sure to check out the YouTube comments under today's trailer. The comments themselves are worth at least an hour's worth of entertainment.

While most everyone agrees that the trailer is pretty amazing, it seems that they enjoy nitpicking over the details. The biggest point of contention seems to be the inclusion of Orlando Bloom's Legolas, who wasn't even mentioned in the roughly 300 pages or so of Hobbit.

Well, when you decided to take material that could easily be told in one movie and stretch it out over three films, there are bound to be a few liberties taken by Peter Jackson. The bottom line is does his inclusion add anything to the story and I think it's safe to say that it does, even after only such a brief appearance.

We also get our first look at Smaug "played" by Benedict Cumberbatch. It's only a quick cameo at the end, but it's enough to whet our appetite. Of course, knowing Peter Jackson those five seconds of footage are probably the only screen time that Smaug gets in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

You have to save something for The Hobbit: There and Back Again. I figure you've got the big dragon battle and just enough time for Peter Jackson to fit in his 99 endings to the trilogy.

Anyhow, here's the trailer and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug will be in theaters on December 13.