The Hobbit’s final part makes debut in London

LONDON-

The stars were out for the world debut of ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ in London.

The film, which is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel ‘The Hobbit’, is the final part of Peter Jackson’s trilogy set in the mythical realm of Middle Earth.

Jackson, who first brought Tolkien’s celebrated works to the big screen when he directed ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, had originally intended for ‘The Hobbit’ to be two movies, but he eventually found he had enough material to make three films.

‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ shows the hobbit Bilbo Baggins on his quest with Gandalf the wizard and 13 dwarves to claim a vast horde of treasure kept by the dragon Smaug at The Lonely Mountain, which was once a dwarf kingdom.

The film also features a huge confrontation between an army of orcs and an uneasy alliance of elves, men and dwarves.

Richard Armitage, who stars as the lead dwarf Thorin Oakenshield, said it was emotional that his own journey into Middle Earth had come to an end.

“It is. It’s a great night, though. To get to come and celebrate Pete’s work from the past 15 years – it’ll be his last investigation of Middle Earth and it’s a big celebration, the final piece of the jigsaw.”

Martin Freeman, who stars as Bilbo, said he felt ‘The Hobbit’, which is only one book compared to the three that Tolkien dedicated to ‘The Lord of the Rings’, did end up working as a trilogy and that Jackson’s decision was vindicated.

“Yeah, I think so. And I think, well, I think these people think so and there will be many besides who are aching to see it. Yeah, I mean I really, I really like it as a trilogy actually. I trust Peter and I trust Fran and Phil his writers and artistically they wanted to put more into it.”

Ian McKellen, who starred as Gandalf, took in the huge crowd that had gathered for the premiere, with many dressing up as Middle Earth characters and said, “Before these people were born we were making ‘Lord of the Rings’. And that’s a good sign isn’t it? Because their kids are going to see the movies. It’s not the end. Movies will carry on and on and on being seen over and over again,” he said.

Others to star in the movie include Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug the dragon and Evangeline Lilly as the elf Tauriel.

Lilly’s character finds herself doing battle with trolls and orcs and is also at the centre of a love story with Legolas and the dwarf Kili.

One other star to show up for the world debut was Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in ‘The Lord of the Rings’.

‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’ opens in UK theatres on December 12 and Decemeber 13 in Pakistan.