It’s been a long road to get to this point, but after two and a half years of filming, Martin Freeman has finally finished all of his scenes for Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy. As you may recall from the outstanding behind the scenes production blogs, the original plan was to make two films and film them in three blocks, but when Jackson determined that he wanted to make a third film, it was decided that the cast and crew would return this summer to finish shooting.
Jackson had this to say about the momentous occasion:
“Tonight Martin Freeman finished his last shot as Bilbo Baggins. The end of an incredible two and a half years. I cannot imagine anyone else in this role – a character that Martin has nurtured and crafted with love and great skill. We have said goodbye to our elves, humans, wizards and now the hobbit. We now enter our final 2 weeks of pick-ups, and it’s wall to wall dwarves. These pick-ups have been grueling and intense, but I’m so happy with what we’ve been shooting. These next two movies are going to be pretty great!”
With this news also comes a couple of behind the scenes pictures taken from the set that show us Freeman in his Bilbo garb, as well as a shot with Benedict Cumberbatch, who is voicing the evil dragon Smaug, the enemy of Bilbo and the dwarves.
Even with the second film, The Desolation of Smaug, still five months away from release, you can be sure that Jackson and his crew are still tinkering with it each and every day. Another fact we learned from the blogs is that they were still putting the finishing touches on the first film right up until the world premiere in Wellington, New Zealand.
With the third film well over a year away, there’s still plenty of time to get everything ready for what is sure to be a spectacular finish to The Hobbit trilogy. From Jackson’s enthusiasm, it seems as though we’re going to be in for a couple more great films. Like the millions of other fans out there, I can’t wait to see what he and his crew have come up with for the remainder of the tale.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug arrives in theaters on December 13th, 2013, while The Hobbit: There and Back Again hits theaters on December 17th, 2014.
Check out the pictures below and let us know what you think in the comments!
(Source: Comic Book Movie)
