The second trailer for Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was delivered online this morning as announced by the director himself. Unlike the first trailer, this one takes a much lighter approach to what should be a triumphant return to Middle Earth and all its wonderful inhabitants.
The trailer begins with a narration and sets a basic narrative structure to the film for potential audiences not familiar with the J. R. R. Tolkien book. “The dwarves are determined to reclaim their homeland,” the narration reads, and then we get to meet the dwarves in their natural habitat before they set off on an adventure.
Whoever cut this Hobbit trailer took a cue from Marvel’s The Avengers and aimed to highlight some of the film’s lighter moments. The dwarves, including Bilbo (Martin Freeman) are natural comics, ready to dole out one-liners at a moment’s notice. This trailer and its lighter tone is cut to feel more mainstream and appeal to a broader audience. I think it does so quite nicely with a mix of action, drama, story setup, comedy and suspense.
There are familiar faces from Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings as well. Gollum gets to read a line that turns into a Bilbo one-liner, plus Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), Elrond (Hugo Weaving) and of course Gandalf (Ian McKellen) are all present and accounted for.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be released theatrically on December 14, 2012 in 3D and IMAX 3D.
