Come December, ardent fans of J. R. R. Tolkien’s monumental The Lord of the Rings saga will bid farewell to Middle-earth and its luscious fantasy landscape for the final time (yes, even after all those false endings in Return of the King) when The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies hits theaters.
The conclusive chapter in Bilbo Baggins’ story, initially branded as The Hobbit: There and Back Again, is arguably one of the most-anticipated releases of the holiday season and to tease the epic scale of the trilogy-capper, Digital Spy has unveiled a rather stunning banner poster for the upcoming film.
Attendees of this year’s San Diego Comic-Con will instantly rrecognizethe tapestry, as Peter Jackson projected it on the big screen for all of Hall H to enjoy. Essentially, the artwork teases some of the key scenes from the threequel, with Smaug, Bilbo, Thorin Oakenshield and of course, the grand titular encounter all making an appearance.
Following the ruination of Lake-town by the aforementioned dragon, Thorin and his fellow dwarves must protect Bilbo as he becomes ever more attached to a certain gold ring. To make matters worse, Sauron has unleashed legions of orcs that march toward the Misty Mountain to execute a stealth attack. And so, the remaining men, elves and dwarves must unite against a common enemy or face certain death at the hand of Sauron’s minions.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies will launch across the UK and North America on December 12th and December 17th, respectively. In the meantime, be sure to bask in the glory of the recently-released banner below.