Final ‘Hobbit’ Movie Gets Name Change

Director Peter Jackson announced on his Facebook page that the forthcoming installment to the Hobbit franchise is getting a name change.

The title for the final film of the franchise is being changed form The Hobbit: There and Back Again to The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

Jackson explained his reason for the change:

“There and Back Again felt like the right name for the second of a two film telling of the quest to reclaim Erebor, when Bilbo’s arrival there and departure, were both contained within the second film. But with three movies, it suddenly felt misplaced-after all, Bilbo has already arrived “there” in the Desolation of Smaug”

The director continued “When we did the premier trip last year, I had a quite conversation with the studio about the idea of revisiting the tile. We decided to keep an open mind until a cut of the film was ready to look at. We reached that point last week, and after viewing the movie, we all agreed there is now one title that feels completely appropriate.”

Since J.R. R. Tolkien used the phrase “There and Back Again” to describe the entire journey of Bilbo Baggins, Jackson hinted that the phrase “may be used on a future box-set of all three movies.”  Also, the director revealed that there will be an extended version Desolation of Smaug with more than 25 minutes of new content.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies will be released in theaters on December 17, 2014.